


Unfinished Haven Snippets

by Wingzeroalchemist



Series: Re-take [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Action, Contains various RT references, Don’t copy to another site, F/F, F/M, Humor, Or Arctic Monkeys, Seeds for Bumbleby, Seeds for Sunflakes, Whatever you call it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-11 04:39:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18422979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wingzeroalchemist/pseuds/Wingzeroalchemist
Summary: An attempt to write the Haven fight before Volume 5 even started, back when I thought there'd be an actual invasion like back at Beacon. But things came up and I never finished. So finally I just decided to post what I have. These are my snippets, dumb jokes, references, and the idle ideas of a monkey on a keyboard. Takes place after "Recovery" and in the same continuity as "Life with the Arctic Monkeys".Fair warning, it's pretty Yang-centric. I was going to focus on the others, but that was when I was starting to lose steam. I may post the rough drafts and embarrassing attempts at focusing on the others later.





	1. Yang Makes Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back after my rewrite of Yang's recovery I decided to write Haven before Volume 5 started, in the same continuity as the recovery rewrite. I got about a third of the way before life caught up to me. I did a bit more during Volume 5, then rewrote some things but then real life happened again, and I just kind of gave up after being disappointed again with the V5 finale.
> 
> This chapter was rewritten after one of the early episodes of V5 to make it fit.

"Ugh."   
  
Yang grunted as she left yet another high end clothing store. She was beginning to get frustrated. This was the tenth store she'd checked so far, and yet none of the people working in any of them had ever seen or heard of her target. Years of searching for her mother had taught her a lot in tracking people, but most of her contacts were back in Vale. And she didn't think her target was the kind that would have show up on the radar of the more seedy sources of information. So she was stuck doing all the legwork herself.   
  
Time was running out. The invasion date was drawing closer and the others were starting to ask questions about where she kept going.   
  
After listening to the Ozpin's vague "plan", Yang wasn't satisfied. While she didn't trust her mother not to have twisted the truth with a dash of lies back at the bandit camp, she still wasn't willing to believe Ozpin would follow through on his promise to stop the secrecy. She didn't trust him. And she didn't trust Lionheart by proxy. Ozpin's laughable plan of defending against an invasion with just themselves only clinched it.    
  
The blonde wasn't going to let her sister or her friends die because some ancient wizard was too passive. So she made a plan of her own.   
  
She just needed to find her target.   
  
Who would have thought it'd be so hard to find a blue haired nerd in this city?   
  
Yang paused. Nerd. Or 'intellectual', as he frequently insisted. Realization dawned on her. She'd been looking in the wrong places.    
  
The former student didn't know much about the guy. Not that she didn't like him. He was nice enough and funny in his attempts at flirting and general dorkiness, but the truth was they never got the chance to hang out much. Given how much emphasis he put on being "cool" and how nice his clothes were, she'd figured he'd have had some roots in some high end store.    
  
Now though, the blonde realized she should have been looking into his other interests.   
  
Yang pulled up her map on her scroll and scoured it for her next stop.    
  
There. The closest bookstore to Haven. The school was much closer to Mistral proper than Beacon was to Vale, so it'd make sense that any store a student would want to frequent would be in walking distance.    
  
After taking a moment to memorize the directions, Yang hopped on to Bumblebee and took off.   
  
She had a dork to find.   
  
  
\---------   
  
  
Pulling up to the building at the address, she knew this was it. The store was decently big, but cluttered in a way that made it seem so much smaller. The bottom half of the front windows were almost completely blocked out with bookshelves from inside, and looking in she could see that the shelves were there out of necessity rather than an aesthetic choice. The building was packed. Turning to face the door she saw a small sign reading "Family Owned" on the glass.   
  
Heading in, Yang smiled at the quaint little jingle. The place still used a real bell instead of an electronic one. Blake would have lo-   
  
She paused, her smile quickly morphing into a tight frown. A familiar unpleasant sensation began to rise in her chest before she squashed it down. Shaking her head, the blonde forced that entire train of thought from her mind. She had more important things to focus on.    
  
Putting on her best casual smile, Yang strode over to the front desk. Upon hearing footsteps, the older man at the counter looked up to meet her. As he took in the sight before him, the man smiled.    
  
"Well hello there. I don't think I've seen your face around here before. What can I do for you?"   
  
Yang's smile become more genuine at his tone.    
  
"Hey there," she said, "I'm actually looking for someone. Though if you have the latest issue of X-Ray and Vav, that'd be awesome."    
  
The man raised his eyebrows at that. "You a comic reader, young lady?"   
  
The teen shook her head. "I'll thumb through them occasionally, but my sister's the big fan. She's been traveling for a while, so she's missed the past few releases. Figured I'd surprise her."   
  
"I see. Well as a matter of fact, we do carry comics. We just got the latest issue yesterday."   
  
"Awesome!" Yang's voice perked up slightly. "Where can I find them?"   
  
"Over in that corner there," the gentleman pointed towards the back corner. "And you said something about finding someone?"   
  
Yang nodded. "Yep, looking for a friend. Tall, blue hair, kind of dorky. Does he visit here?"   
  
The man's expression darkened a bit. "And how do you know this friend?"   
  
Yang paused, a look of slight confusion on her face. She hadn't expected that kind of reaction from this place.   
  
"Well, he's a student at Haven. We met at the Vytal tournament. He said to visit if I was in town, but he forgot to tell me where."   
  
Expression lightening, the man chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like Neptune."   
  
Upon seeing her confusion he continued, "Oh, right, you're not from around here. Mistral isn't exactly the nicest place if you catch my meaning. Normally it's fine here in the central city. No one really wants to get into trouble right next to the Huntsmen Academy and where all the more upstanding Huntsmen and Huntresses spend their time. But after the CCT fell, most of the Huntsmen are always out and about. Things aren't as safe as they used to be."    
  
He shrugged, "I was worried you might not have the best intentions towards one of my regulars."   
  
Yang nodded in understanding. "Nope, just a friend."   
  
"Well in that case-"   
  
"Yang!"   
  
The blonde whirled to face the familiar voice, only just stopping herself from raising her fists in surprise, before a genuine grin graced her face.   
  
Neptune was standing behind her, having just turned the corner around a bookshelf. His eyes were wide at the sight of her, clearly surprised that she was here.   
  
"As I was saying, he's right over there," the old man continued mirthfully. Getting up, he headed to the back. "I'll let you two catch up."   
  
"What are you doing here?" Neptune finally asked as his brain rebooted. "How did you get here?" He momentarily glanced down at her right arm, but thought better of bringing it up.   
  
"What? That's it? No hello? No 'how are you?'" Yang jokingly scoffed, "And you wonder why I never return your calls."   
  
"Hey wait a minute," Neptune started, but paused as he noticed the grin on Yang's face.   
  
Unable to stop the smile on his own face, Neptune replied. "Okay, very funny. It's good to see you too. But seriously, how did you get here, and why?"   
  
"That's a long story. More importantly though, I need your help."   
  
The words seemed to have struck a chord with the young man. Neptune’s face lost its smile as he set down the books. "Wait, hold on. What do you mean? What's going on?"   
  
"There's an invasion coming. The White Fang want to do to Haven what they did to Beacon. I'll explain everything, but right now, I really need your help." Yang’s voice took on a more urgent tone. 

  
Taking on a more serious expression than she'd ever seen on him, Neptune nodded. "Right, what do you need?"   
  
"I need you to call every student you have contact with, and get them to call the ones they know. Everyone who's able and willing to fight needs to get to Haven yesterday. And they need to keep it quiet. Tell no one but other students."   
  
Neptune raised an eyebrow. "Why the secrecy? Why not tell the professors or the Council?"   
  
Yang took a step closer as she lowered her voice, "There's something weird going on at the top levels. Huntsmen are missing, and there aren't any in town. The Headmaster knows about the invasion and doesn't seem like he's preparing. Something’s fishy."   
  
Neptune’s widened in realization. "So we might be compromised."    
  
Yang nodded grimly.   
  


The young man clenched his fist. “I'll send out the message. You can count on us.” Neptune’s eyes glittered darkly. “We're not going to let them take Haven."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little side note, I thought it'd be neat if Neptune didn't actually buy his super nice clothes, but instead put them together from other stuff. Like, he's a master with a sewing needle. Weiss ends up having him repair dresses instead of getting them done by Atlas professionals after she finds out. And she gets really upset that Ruby won't let him repair her cloak.


	2. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't include this one because it's one of the dumbest and most poorly written thing I’ve done since I started doing RWBY snippets. That said, I made myself smile at the end. So it’s a net positive in my book.

“So that’s the situation, Captain. Can you help us?” Blake asked.

For a minute the old captain said nothing, simply scrutinizing the pair of Faunus standing before him. As the awkward tension began to make Sun fidget the captain finally spoke.

“An attack on Haven would be quite the undertaking.” He began to look out towards the sea as he continued, “It would take a lot of manpower, lots of resources and planning too. And if it’s anything like the attack on Beacon, they may very well have Atlas military grade weaponry.”

He turned to look at the pair again and began to stroke his beard. “You intend to stop them with a few volunteers? Young lady, you and your friend here were quite impressive when you saved my ship, but the odds aren’t exactly in your favor.”

As he spoke, Blake’s heart sank. He was right. They were woefully under equipped and outmatched. But…

“That doesn’t matter,” Blake said firmly. “The White Fang are going to attack and we aren’t just going to sit here and let them keep hurting innocent people. We’re not going to stand by and let them speak for us to the world.”

The old man raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You know, rumor has it that Huntsmen are scarce in Haven at the moment. Seems a good many have been unavailable due to long term missions, with many still not returning long after they were supposed to. You’ll be all alone. And given that you saved my ship, I can hardly just bring you all to what is undoubtedly suicide.”

Blake’s eyes glittered with defiance. She was just about to speak when the captain kept going.

“I suppose I’d be remiss if I didn’t do my part to even those odds.”

Blake’s stern expression was quickly replaced by one of confusion. “I don’t understand. What do you mean, Captain?”

“Call me Bluehawk, Ms. Belladonna.” He pointed his thumb at his chest and grinned. “There aren’t many vessels that make regular trips all the way down here to Menagerie, and I’m the only human captain among them. You think they let me dock and refuel there because of my dashing good looks?”

Blake chuckled softly before Sun piped in. “I don’t know sir, that’s a pretty sweet beard you got there.”

Bluehawk let out a bark of laughter. “You should talk to my first mate. They’ve been trying to get rid of it for months.” As his laughter died down, he turned back to Blake and spoke again.

“I’ve been at sea for a long time, Ms. Belladonna. I’ve sailed to almost every major port in Remnant, and made contacts all over. I have a few friends in Mistral who may be able to help.”

Blake was a bit skeptical but grateful it seemed like he was agreeing to take them. Luckily, Sun had no such apprehensions and asked what she was thinking.

“What kind of friends would you have that could help us fight an army of terrorists?”

The captain’s eyes twinkled.

 

\------

 

That night, the Captain joined the Faunus at the Belladonna’s home to discuss further details.

“So how many aircrafts do you believe we will have access to?” Ghira asked. “What kind of armaments will they have and who will pilot them?”

Bluehawk took a sip of his coffee as he pulled out some papers onto the table. “My friend’s business has a fleet of about 60 ships, almost all piloted by Faunus. And I’d bet my ship most of them wouldn’t hesitate to help.”

“Oh?” Ghira questioned. “Why is that?”

“Because most of them used to be White Fang, Chieftain. They each had their own reasons for leaving, but it’s made it hell for them to get out from that dark shadow, even those that left before things started getting violent.”

Ghira nodded. “So they all have their own reasons for hating the White Fang.”

“What about weapons?” Ilia asked, looking up from her own stack of papers.

The captain rubbed his eyes, “There’s a man who deals in, shall we say, more illicit goods. He’s a piece of work, but he owes me a favor in a big way. He should be able to get us what we need.”

“Alright then.”

Everyone at the table looked up at Blake. Her ears lowered a bit at the sudden attention before standing straight again. “Now we just need to set up the meetings.”

 

\------

 

The trip to Mistral from Menagerie was far quicker than Blake’s trip from Vale, taking only a few days. It helped that there was a rather straightforward path to the heart of Anima by sea, as opposed to having to travel all the way around Sanus when coming from Vale. The Captain assured them that the trip back would be even faster, as there was a major current a little further east that would bring them right back to Menagerie.

It took a lot of effort, but Blake had managed to convince Sun back in Menagerie. Discretion was a top priority so as not to alert any White Fang informants that might be in the area, and the blond had let it slip that he was rather well known in the southern docks from his time before starting at Haven. With Captain Bluehawk already agreeing to act as a guide, it was decided that Sun’s notoriety was too big a risk.

“Are you sure this is the place?” Ilia asked skeptically. “This doesn’t really scream ‘Black Market’ to me.”

Blake couldn’t help but agree. She knew a bit more about less than legal dealings than most, certainly more than what was shown in media, and she’d never have associated it with this kind of store.

The store wasn’t dark or shady looking, nor did it look particularly nice. It was simple. Almost depressingly so. It looked to be essentially a uniform wooden cube with some windows and doors cut out. Above the door was a crudely painted sign that read “Simple Geoff’s Mercantile and Bar”, with the “and Bar” part looking like it was sloppily added some time later.

The captain snorted. “No, this is definitely him. Though he’s expanded since I last saw him.”

He walked through the door and headed straight to the bar. Ghira followed close behind while Blake and Ilia stopped to take a minute to look around. The store was… bare. That was really the only word to describe it. The shelves had items, but they were few and with more space in between them than they really needed. The selection was also odd. Mushrooms, seeds, and fruit sat interspersed between fishing rods, bouncy balls, and small bookshelves. The air smelled of chicken feed, which would explain the faint clucking sound they heard coming from the back.

Unable to find any rhyme or reason in the products, the pair simply decided to drop it and walked to meet the others at the bar.

As they approached the stools it appeared that the bartender was finishing his conversation with two other men.

“So I told him it was like the funniest thing I’d seen in my entire life. And dude, it was funny as dicks. Now scram, I got customers.”

As the unknown pair walked off, the man turned to look at the new arrivals. Now that Blake could get a good look at him, she felt that he fit in with the shop perfectly. As in he was just as out of place as everything else in the store. He was a tall, lanky man with the build of the kind of person who could never gain weight, except he had a slight beer belly. His body was covered with tattoos save for his face, which was graced with an almost cartoonish curly handlebar mustache.

Upon finishing her observation she looked up to see that he’d been looking at her with an exasperated expression. He turned to Ghira and spoke.

“Is she old enough to even be at the bar? There’s a very clear line between the bar area and the store area.”

As he pointed to the floor, the visitors looked down and noticed a not quite straight line made of multicolored pieces of tape separating the area around the bar from the rest of the store.

Before Ghira could comment, Bluehawk’s voice drew the bartender’s attention. “It doesn’t matter Geoff, we’re not here to drink.”

Geoff’s head whipped to look at the ship captain and his face brightened. “Well hey there John, good to see ya’! How’ve you been?”

Bluehawk smiled, his eyes crinkling. “I’ve been doing alright. The CCT hit cost me some business, but overall it’s been fairly steady, if slow going. Though that almost wasn’t the case if not for the young lady over there.

Geoff looked back to Blake and Ilia, realization dawning as he took notice of their weapons. “Oh, Huntresses. I didn’t notice.” He turned back to the captain and grinned smugly, “So, finally found a Grimm your cannon couldn’t handle? And now you know what it’s like to be rescued.”

The captain raised an eyebrow. “I think the situations were a fair bit different. I was attacked by a giant sea serpent. You got drunk and fell off a boat.”

“It only happened once!” Geoff exclaimed.

The eyebrow rose higher.

Geoff sighed. “Okay, twice, but I stopped drinking. Seriously.”

The captain looked at the area that would generously be called a 'bar’ and turned back, the other eyebrow rose.

Geoff rolled his eyes. “I had to do something with my booze if I wasn’t gonna drink it, didn’t I?”

Ghira coughed, gaining the pair’s attention.

A sheepish grin crossed Bluehawks face as he scratched the back of his head. “Right, the reason we’re here.” He turned back to Geoff, his face now serious. “Lazer, I need to call in that favor.”

Geoff’s eyes widened. “Oh really? This must be big to call in on that.”

“Haven is about to be attacked,” Ilia blurted out. she shrugged as all eyes turned to her. “It was taking too long. We’re on a schedule, right?”

Geoff looked back at John, “So what’s that got to do with me?”

The older man stared at him. “Geoff, we need weapons.”

Geoff looked nervously to the side and started cleaning a clean glass with a dirty rag. “I have no idea why you’re asking me. I don’t know anything about weapons.”

Just as he finished his sentence, a door to the back burst open and a large, spectacled man with an impressive beard came out carrying an arm full of different firearms.

“Hey Geoff, where did you want this bunch of highly illegal deadly weapons that you’re totally selling?”

The visiting group all stared blankly at the newcomer, before as one they turned to face Geoff with a deadpan expression.

Geoff put down the glass, put his head in his hands and quietly swore.

“Goddammit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sun was originally going to be in Ilia's place since I wrote this before V5 started. But then I had an idea that would make Sun's notoriety on that particular dock slightly relevant later. Thankfully Ilia joined the good guys as I had that idea, so I was able to do some tweaking and put Ilia in Sun's old role. Also, Geoff’s name is Geoff Ramsey Lazer. Lazer calls the color red (or green) to mind, so it works! Don’t question it! And Jack is Jack Pastello.


	3. It Begins

"You sure the information you got was reliable?" Weiss asked.  
  
"Yeah," Yang answered, fiddling with her scroll as the pair walked towards the secondary entrance to the campus. "There's definitely something going down. And I don't think it's a coincidence that Lionheart called in Qrow at the same time."   
  
Weiss raised her eyebrow. "You're serious? You really think he's a traitor?"   
  
Turning her head to glance at Weiss, Yang sighed. "I don't want to think so. But things are really shady. You've seen it yourself."   
  
The former heiress's face became pensive. "I'll admit, this plan of theirs seems really lacking," she paused, turning to look up at the taller girl, "but I worry you might be..."   
  
Hearing her friend trail off, Yang looked back down to meet Weiss' gaze, the blonde raising her own brow. "Worried I'm what?"   
  
Weiss paused, glanced away to avoid Yang's eyes before turning back to them with more confidence. "I'm worried that you might have been influenced by your mother."   
  
Yang's eyes narrowed, her eyebrows furrowing. Closing her eyes, the blonde let out a small sigh. "I'm not gonna lie, her warning has been on my mind. But I trust Uncle Qrow more than I trust a woman who was never there. I just want to make sure no one gets hurt because of some secret schemes."   
  
"That's fair," Weiss nodded, "I can't say I'd be happy to have left Atlas just to end up another pawn."   
  
Yang looked down again at her teammate, her eyes softening. Weiss hadn't really talked much about what had happened after her father had taken her from Vale, but it was understood that it hadn't been good. "Weiss..."   
  
Whatever she was going to say was cut off as Weiss pointed out over the skyline. "Look!"   
  
Turning to look where Weiss was pointing, Yang's eyes widened. "Oh no."   
  
Bullheads. Scores of them. And slowly rising above the horizon was a giant airship. The White Fang were coming in force, with far more resources than they had at Beacon.   
  
This wasn't what they'd expected. Yang's contact had mentioned small bits of activity, something more like a scouting party. It was too early. And they were woefully unequipped.   
  
Reaching her hand in her pocket, Yang quickly sent off a few messages.   
  
"Are you-" Weiss began, but Yang answered before she could finish.   
  
"Letting Ruby and the others know. And calling for backup."   
  
"Backup?" Weiss questioned.   
  
"Yeah. Like I said, I didn't trust Ozpin's plans, so I made my own."   
  
Weiss crossed her arms. "And you didn't think to tell us until now?"   
  
Rubbing the back of her head, Yang let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, at first it was because I didn't want word getting to Ozpin or Lionheart. Jaune and Nora aren't exactly good at keeping secrets, and Ruby might have told Qrow, who'd have told Ozpin. And it was hard to get a chance to do it in private. So after a while I just kind of, forgot?"   
  
Rolling her eyes, Weiss let out a huff as she uncrossed her arms and drew her sword.   
  
"Fine. I suppose that makes some sense. Who did you call?"   
  
"All of Haven." Yang punctuated her statement with a pale shadow of her old confident smirk as she deployed the guns on both of her wrists.   
  
Weiss felt a pang of sadness at the sight. She missed the energetic fire the blonde usually brought to a fight.   
  
Turning back to face the White Fang members dropping to the ground from some of the bullheads, Weiss's eyes hardened and she let out a small noise that was definitely not a growl.   
  
The White Fang had taken that fire. She was going to make them pay for it, with interest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. An actual invasion. This takes place a while after chapter one, and somewhere over a month after chapter two. If you know me, I think it goes without saying that I do not appreciate that the fire faded, or that M&K think that this is somehow an improvement. It makes sense to fade for a while given what happened, but that they frame it as an improvement is what rankles me. So I may have channeled a bit of myself through Weiss.


	4. Team Hot and Not Useless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one was short so I decided to post 2 chapters today.

Yang grunted, punching a particularly tall White Fang member in the face. The blow sent him flying back before hitting the ground and skidding for several meters, knocking the legs out from under another pair of grunts as he did. One of the pair hit the pavement with the back of his head. He wouldn't be getting up again. The other managed to catch herself, but was quickly taken out for the count by a stray bolt of lightning from a nearby glyph.  
  
Landing from the punch, Yang turned and ran a few step towards a sword wielding grunt to her left.   
  
As the Faunus swung the sword into a downwards slash, Yang jumped to her right. Kicking her right foot into the face of a White Fang member trying to capitalize on her dodge, she bounced off her makeshift launchpad to rise above the sword wielder. She slammed both feet onto said Faunus' head, the force of the impact driving his head into the ground and creating a small crater.   
  
The blonde continued forward into a roll upon hitting the ground, coming to her feet straight into an uppercut to a gunman who had been trying to get a bead on her.   
  
Before she could even lower her fist, Yang tilted her head to the side to avoid a stab from a long blade. Bringing her extended arm down on the sword arm of her attacker, she brought up her other hand and gripped tight as she swung the body the arm was attached to over her shoulder.   
  
Before the dust settled from his introduction to the ground, Yang had swung the Faunus again, this time using him as a flail to hit a trio that tried to gang up on her.   
  
Jumping back out of the mob for an moment, Yang glanced over to Weiss to see how she was doing.   
  
What she saw was incredible. Smooth and as graceful as ever, Weiss skated among the mob of terrorists, ducking and spinning in an elegant dance of dodging and flashing steel. Her movements weren't too different to what the blonde remembered, though Yang was impressed by how much more efficient they seemed. It didn't look like a single movement was wasted, her every dodge seamlessly leading into an attack as if she had planned it from the start. But that wasn't the truly amazing part.   
  
It was her glyphs. Half a dozen glyphs appeared and disappeared simultaneously as she weaved through her opponents. A slash accompanied by a spike of ice towards an opponent trying to strike her back. A riposte flowed into a jab while three different glyphs of different elements peppered the foe from behind. And that wasn't even mentioning the many acceleration glyphs she effortlessly glided across, appearing and disappearing with perfect precision.   
  
It seemed Weiss had not had much chance to do more physical training than just maintaining herself. She wasn't any faster and didn't seem any stronger. But clearly she hadn't been idle. The snow-haired girl must have spent all that time training her mental discipline instead.   
  
Yang snapped out of her observation with a shake of her head. Fight now, appreciate later.   
  
She'd tell Weiss how impressed she was when Haven was safe. After a bit of teasing.   
  
The blonde then immediately sprang back, narrowly avoiding a heavy blow from a large hammer. Taking in the Faunus holding its handle, she rolled her eyes. Where did they find all these giant guys?   
  
Springing forward the moment her feet touched the ground, Yang threw a right cross into the terrorist's gut before he could raise the hammer out of the hole it had made.   
He stumbled back a step, but Yang didn't allow him to regain his footing. She followed up with a quick burst of punches, her fists almost a blur, before ending with an Ember Celica boosted hook to the jaw.   
  
He didn't get up.   
  
Not even stopping to watch, Yang continued the motion into a backhand with her opposite fist on another Faunus behind her.   
  
This was getting old. Even the small echo of the fun she'd have had from such a fight had long since faded.   
  
But they didn't stop. There were so many. And she and Weiss were the only thing standing between them and Haven.   
  
"Ca-KAW'"   
  
Speak of the devil.   
  
Looking up, she saw a pale redhead sail overhead and further into the mob. He landed with a graceful flip, then quickly arched his back to dodge an attack with a definitively ungraceful "ack!"   
  
Swinging around in an amazing display of balance, Scarlet brought up his pistol right into the face of his would be attacker and fired, his other hand already swinging his cutlass into foes on his opposite side. The less said of what happened to his first attacker, the better.   
  
Yang broke her eyes from the sight and lept back to stand next to Neptune, just as a massive sword slammed into the place she once stood, flattening her current opponent and knocking over nearby Faunus from the shockwave.   
  
"Took you guys long enough, we were starting to get bored." Yang snarked.   
  
"Well, we had some complications, and Scarlet forgot his pants." Neptune snipped back, taking pot shots at White Fang members who tried to get out of range of Sage's sweeping swings.   
  
Yang looked back, seeing only the _SSN of team SSSN. "Is it just you three?"   
  
The blue-haired teen shook his head. "No, but we were the closest. Like a scouting party," he finished with an almost excited tone.   
  
The blonde snorted, taking the opportunity to reload. "Well, it's good you're here. This was getting annoying. They just keep coming."   
  
"We just have to hold out them for a little longer,” Neptune assured her. "Trust me, we're not going to let then win. There’s more than a few of us that are a bit pissed they’d try to repeat Beacon."   
  
As he spoke his last sentence he quickly shifted his weapon into its trident form, thrusting it behind him between his shoulder and his left ear. The weapon's head caught the blade of a lion Faunus between its prongs. Neptune made a sharp twist and then spun the polearm around, wrenching the blade from the hands of the Faunus who'd tried sneak up on them, before nailing her across the face with the butt of the trident.   
  
He then flashed Yang with what he must have thought was a charming grin, she could almost hear the cartoonish ding.   
  
Yang rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but let out a chuckle.   
  
"Come on, 'ladies' man', we got faces to smash."   
  
Neptune's dropped the exaggerated smile, chuckling a bit himself before putting on a more serious face. "Right." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whether Scarlet actually forgot his pants or if Neptune was just joking is up to you.


	5. Weiss After the Throw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: So this is the first instance of scenes I intended to write but never did that have actual importance.
> 
> So between this chapter and the last one, there's supposed to be a scene where somehow Yang or Weiss hear one of the White Fang say something about a "Belladonna". This is because while they've been fighting, the Menagerie forces arrived on the Captain's ship. Ghira is leading the most combat capable Faunus on the ground, coming from the harbor and making their way through the city, where the White Fang were also attacking and planting bombs (remember, this is an actual invasion with greater prep and resources than Beacon). Meanwhile Kali is on the ship, coordinating the aerial forces along with the less directly combat capable Faunus. The ship is also using its cannon to fire at the large White Fang airship, which was a stolen Mistral ship kitted out with Atlas tech and Watts upgrades. The cannon fire is mainly a distraction though, while Blake and Sun sneak aboard the ship to take it down from the inside, using plans from Ilia's Scroll. Ilia herself is working with a small group of Faunus to hunt down and neutralize the bombs, same as canon.
> 
> So the White Fang they hear (a force like this is going to have radio operators same as a modern military force) may be talking about Blake, but is probably talking about Ghira. Yang and Weiss assume it's Blake though, and from other stuff the radio operator says, they incorrectly assume Blake is on the airship.
> 
> Yang doesn't need to say anything but call Weiss's name when she comes to that conclusion, and Weiss immediately summons the Knight and Yang jumps on its sword. The Knight then flings Yang skyward towards the ship. This takes place right after Weiss flings Yang.

 

* * *

 

 

Weiss turned from the quickly vanishing figure of Yang and spotted Neptune engaged with a large mob of White Fang soldiers.

 

"Neptune! Get clear!" she called out, swinging down her sword arm. The Knight mimicked her movements, swinging down its massive sword upon the group of Faunus.

 

Without looking to the source of the voice, Neptune leapt back towards Weiss. As he did, he quickly swapped his weapon into it's ranged form and fired several electrical shots into the enemy group. The lightning orbs reached the Fang members before they could leap out of the way of the incoming sword, electricity arcing between them, locking their muscles and freezing their movement. The effect was temporary, but it was long enough as they could only watch helplessly at the incoming swing.

 

Neptune landed at Weiss' side as the ground shook from the impact on the now late terrorists.

 

"Where did Yang go?" He asked, firing off potshots into the enemy lines. He looked over to her and saw her pointing at the massive airship in the sky. His gaze followed her finger before coming back to Weiss. "Why? What's up there that's so urgent?"

 

"Blake," Weiss said simply and without strain, even as she created a minefield of different Glyphs.

 

Neptune raised an eyebrow. "Is she now? So then Sun's up there too."

 

Weiss' glanced at Neptune before returning her attention to the complete havoc her Glyphs were wreaking on the would be invaders. "Why? And how do you know that?

 

Neptune took a moment to respond as it finally dawned on him just how much focus Weiss' actions were taking. The Huntress was casually holding a conversation while at the same time controlling what looked to be a dozen of different Glyphs simultaneously yet independently. He couldn't imagine the mental discipline it would take to simply create them all, let alone consciously control them. It had to be like fighting a dozen of battles at once!

 

"Neptune," Weiss said, snapping him out of his shock, "You didn't answer my question."

 

"Uh, right," Neptune shook his head as he turned and began picking off the Fang members smart enough to have stayed out of Weiss' minefield. "After Sun told everyone that Blake had run off, he took off after her."

 

Weiss' eyes narrowed a bit. "Why?"

 

Neptune shrugged, "He said that he wasn't going to let her lone wolf it against the White Fang, especially since Yang wouldn't be able to be her backup for a while."

 

Her expression softened as Weiss briefly gazed up to the ship above. "Guess I'll have to thank him when I see him."

 

As she trained her focus back on the enemy, Scarlet and Sage came sliding in from nearby. The redhead opened his mouth before he even came to a stop, "Did I hear that Sun is up there?"

 

At Neptune's nod a large grin spread across Scarlet's face. "Well then I guess it's time to get the Lads back together!"

 

Weiss paused as her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Why did you even let him leave? Why didn't you try and keep the team together if you had the chance?"

 

Sage smiled, "Because he felt he needed to go, and there's no real stopping Monkey Boy when he's like that. But the crew will always reunite again eventually. And it's our job to be there to do it."

 

Weiss gave a soft smile of her own at the familiar words. The parallels were not lost on her.

 

"Yeah, I guess it is."

 

Weiss looked back up at the ship, her expression returning to that of grim focus. "So now the question is, how do we get up there."

 

"Uh, I don't know, but you may want to take a rain check on that." Neptune called out, his voice carrying a note of worry.

 

Weiss turned her sights over to where he was facing and her eyes widened. Grimm. The White Fang bullheads were dropping Grimm. Weiss rolled her eyes. “Wonderful."

 

She raised her sword, as the other three formed around her and leveled their weapons as well.

 

"Can you handle taking point, Princess?" Sage asked.

 

Weiss scoffed as a line of Glyphs took shape, starting at her feet and continuing forward. "Please. You ruffians just try and keep up."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The entire "ruffian" line is solely because I had this idea of _SSN becoming something like Weiss's "posse" that she affectionately calls her 'ruffians'. I don't know why it appeals to me so much, but it does and no one can convince me otherwise.
> 
> Sage calling her 'princess' isn't meant to be derogatory so much as light ribbing. These are teenage guys who live in a dorm environment of other teenage guys. Even the mature one is going to do some poking fun here and there. Also he needed more lines.


	6. Yang Falls Skyward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place at the same time as the last chapter. The whole thing was written to "Falling Towards the Sky" from RvB.

 

* * *

 

The roar of the wind was deafening as Yang soared skywards. The air battered her face as she rocketed at speeds normally reserved for aircrafts, yet her eyes remained unflinchingly trained on her target. 

 

The large ship was an ugly piece of work. It looked to have originally been a stolen Mistral airship, but the resemblance was minimal. The vessel had been completely covered in a patchwork of metal with none of the original wooden craftsmanship visible. Cannons had been attached along the broad sides with three more in the front and two in the back. Painted just below the cannons sat the White Fang's symbol, its visage looming like a predator overhead.

 

Surrounding it was a small fleet of bullheads, acting as a deterrent against the Grimm from attacking the ones who brought them into the battle. And it seemed the Grimm weren't the only ones attacking. As Yang got closer she could see that some of the bullheads weren't bearing the hated white logo, but a softer blue version, as well as the symbol she recognized as the flag of Menagerie. 

 

Yang could feel herself slowing as the momentum of the throw began to die and gravity started making itself known. She wasn't going to make it.

 

There!

A pair of bullheads were dog-fighting not too far to her left. Yang’s eyes tracked the ship's paths as she cocked back her arms before firing backwards with the weapons on both hands, angling herself towards the nearby ships. The recoil shot her forward, denying gravity's grasp for a moment longer.

 

Her aim was dead on as her new trajectory saw her approaching the top of the White Fang’s craft. Unfortunately the pilot must have seen her coming because before she even touched down, the bullhead shot straight upwards as it started to spin into an aileron roll. Yang hit the roof of the ship as it began rolling, punching into the surface with her right arm before holding on tight as the bullhead completed its rotation.

 

As the bullhead leveled out, Yang felt a rumbling coming from one side. She could vaguely see the tip of the side door poke out from beneath the edge of the wing when her observation was cut short as a White Fang member leaned up from the side and opened fire. 

 

With her right arm still lodged in the ship’s chassis, she was only able to bring up her left arm and block with Ember Celica. Fortunately, it seemed that the turbulence from flying sabotaged the Faunus’ aim and most of his shots went wild of their target.

 

Soon the gunfire paused while the Fang member reached to reload. Yang capitalized on the respite and withdrew her right arm. She then slid across the top of the ship, keeping one hand in contact with the surface, until she introduced her foot to the face of the distracted Faunus. As he was sent tumbling towards the ground below, Yang quickly grabbed the lip of the open door and swung into the hold of the ship.

 

Inside was another White Fang grunt, this one having what looked like a beetle shell on his back. He was already in the process of pulling out his gun when Yang swung in. Just as he opened fire Yang lunged forward to cover the barrel of the gun with her right hand and quickly squeezed, caving in the edge of the barrel. With nowhere to go, the dust based rounds exploded out backwards. The explosion slammed the White Fang grunt into the other side of the hold. Not giving him time to get to his feet, Yang rushed to pick the Faunus up by his chest armor before throwing him out of the still opened door. Without pausing to watch him fall, Yang made to reach for the doors to the cockpit before the entire ship shuddered violently.

 

Yanking open the door, Yang looked in just in time to see a Griffin violently extracting the pilot from a huge hole torn in the roof of the cockpit. He wasn't moving. Two more shakes told her that more Griffin had landed on the ship, no doubt tearing it apart to get to the Faunus they thought were still inside.

 

Without the pilot, the ship had begun to tumble downwards, starting slowly but beginning to pick up speed. Yang quickly rushed back to the hold and positioned herself next to the still closed door. Timing her shot, Yang waited until the open door on the other side was facing directly upwards before she exploded straight up. 

 

Yang grabbed onto the door as she passed, shedding most of her momentum to rip it off its hinges. Still holding on, she waited until the engine of the bullhead was right underneath her before shooting at it with her explosive rounds. The Dust in the already damaged engines reacted with the Burn Dust in the rounds and amplified the explosion. Crouching on the door and using it to shield her, Yang rode the shock-wave skywards.

 

She was almost high enough when the door slowed its ascent. Launching herself even higher with Ember Celica, Yang barely rose at all before she was slammed off course from the side. 

 

As Yang arced sideways, she saw that it was the beetle Faunus from the bullhead. Reaching the zenith of her arc, Yang noticed that the shell on his back had opened up to reveal large insectoid wings.

 

Turning to face downwards, Yang noticed what Bug-boy had planned. A large flock of Griffon were not too far beneath her and slowly climbing higher, jaws wide and talons outstretched as she fell. 

 

Yang smirked. 'Perfect.’

 

She pulled her arms inwards and streamlined her body, making a beeline towards the Grimm. Locking her sights on to one of the ones furthest outwards of the flock, she fired Ember Celica, accelerating and hitting the singled out Grimm like a golden bullet. 

 

Most of her momentum was lost knocking the Griffin away from its flock, allowing the other Griffin time to change course and close in quickly. 

 

Using the dazed Grimm she'd hit as a springboard, Yang launched up to land on another Griffin, then firing her guns to launch again to the next Grimm. Higher and higher she climbed, barely dodging swipes from razor sharp talons and leaving clouds of feathers and Grimm dust in her wake.

 

The flying Faunus had begun to shed altitude in order to get a better look at what was happening through the smoke, so he was unprepared when Yang shot up past him in a blur of brown and yellow. Bug-boy tumbled backwards in shock, taking a second to reorient himself. When he finally got his bearings he managed to look up just in time to see Yang hurtling down on him like a diving hawk. Unused to being attacked from above, the Faunus was a split second too late to react as Yang landed both feet on his neck. She launched off of him, firing downwards again for another boost. The shots tore apart one of his wings and her push sent the Faunus straight into the waiting talons of the surviving Griffin.

 

As Yang reached the peak of her new arc, she frantically looked around for something else to use as a springboard. Sighting a damaged bullhead halfway the distance between her and her main target, she prepared to propel herself again. But before she fired, a bullhead swooped in underneath her. Yang looked closer and her eyes widened in realization. It was one of the 'Blue’ Fang!

 

She landed safely on the friendly ship, taking care not to damage it as she tried to hold on. Thankfully the pilot seemed to be going out of their way to make it easier for her. Another bullhead pulled up next to them, gaining enough height so that the cockpit was level with her.

 

The pilot looked at Yang and pointed questioningly at the large White Fang airship. Yang followed the finger to her target before looking back at the pilot and nodding. The pilot nodded back and said something into their radio. They then pantomimed buckling their seat belt before turning back to the controls and easing their bullhead into a protective position around the ship Yang was riding.   
  
Yang understood their meaning immediately. Hold on tight.

 

‘Looks like I’m getting a free ride,” she thought as the bullhead started accelerating to the Fang’s warship, angling to go above the defensive line. Laying low on the bullhead, she braced her feet against the left wing and prepared for a bumpy flight. 


	7. Yang Lands in the Sky

The ride was smoother than she expected. Once or twice she had seen the accompanying bullhead break off to take out a White Fang craft who had noticed them, but the one she was riding stayed pretty steady.

 

At least until they got above the battleship.

 

Deafening cracks rang in Yang's ears and she saw great bursts of smoke above her temporary ride. Anti-aircraft cannons. And they had just missed.

 

The Menagerie bullhead swerved to avoid another volley, dipping down to the right and dropping into a spin before pulling up. The aircraft turned to circle around again when it was forced to break off into another spin to avoid more shells. They were trying to get lower so she could land safely, the blonde realized. But with the anti-aircraft weapons trained on them they couldn't even get away, let alone get closer.

 

Her eyes flashed red. This pilot had gone out of their way to help her out. It was time to return the favor.

 

Sidling up towards the front of the craft, Yang waited until the bullhead just began to come out of the dive before she leapt off. Her timing was perfect. The extra upwards push sent her hurtling diagonally instead of straight down. Right towards the biggest anti-aircraft cannon.

 

Tucking in her limbs, she rolled forward before unfurling so that she was flying towards the cannon feet first. Igniting her Semblance, Yang resembled a flaming meteor as she came down to slam on the top of the mounted gun at a shallow angle. The metal crumpled like paper and the base of the cannon flattened beneath it. 

 

Her momentum not spent, Yang bounced off of the crumpled heap of metal, doing another flip before landing into a slide across the deck, like a baseball player sliding to home plate.

 

As her slide took her towards the side of the ship, Yang noticed that she wasn't going to slow down in time to stop before going over the edge. Without hesitation, she reared back her right fist and slammed it into the deck beneath her. The robotic fist punctured the surface with ease, giving her a jolt as the extra resistance quickly slowed her momentum to nothing. Pulling out her arm, she gave it a quick inspection. Not even a scratch. A small smirk graced her face. She really need to thank Ironwood, at least after she finished laying into him for the tournament.

 

A booming explosion brought an abrupt end to Yang’s musing. The damaged cannon had tried to fire after her landing and had backfired. Most of the force of the explosion had been directed downwards below the deck, but a small shock-wave sent Yang's hair whipping wildly about.

 

Moments later, Yang’s attention was brought toward the center of the deck by the sound of shouting and groaning metal. A round hatch in the middle of the deck screeched as it opened outwards, a trio of White Fang popping out like gophers to investigate. 

 

In a flash, Yang was back on her feet and sprinting towards the group. Just as they finally noticed her, she jumped towards the one farthest away from her and met him with a right cross to the face.

 

Ducking down to avoid gunfire the moment her feet touched the ground, Yang quickly closed the distance between the enemy closest to her and drove her fist into his gut. Without stopping, she rotated around the terrorist currently regretting life choices and slammed her opposite fist into the face of the last grunt. All three went down like bricks.

 

Yang took a deep breath as she smoothed out her hair. She was going to need to give it a thorough washing when this was all over.

  
  
After her brief moment of calm, Yang exhaled deeply before looking down into the hatch to check for any more incoming White Fang. Seeing no one, she hopped down into the corridors of the ship and took in the direction that lead away from the bow. 

 

“You are in so much trouble when I find you.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one might upset some people.

 

* * *

 

 

Turning yet another corner as she raced down the identical looking metal hallways, Yang decided she was officially sick of corridors. She’d very quickly noticed the different colored glowing lines on the ceiling of the hallways and decided on following the white one to see where it went. Thankfully, it had led her to a map and she now knew which lines led to what. Unfortunately, that didn’t tell her where Blake was.  
  
Trusting her instincts, Yang had decided to head down towards the lower hangers closest to the engines. If Blake wanted to wreak havoc, the engines or the bridge would be the places to go. And her gut told her Blake would avoid the heavily crowded bridge.

 

Yang slowed to a walk as she came to a door at the end of the corridor. According to the map, she could take a shortcut through this storage room to get to a stairwell. Opening the door and stepping in, she came to a quick stop at what was waiting for her.

 

* * *

  
  
Yang narrowed her eyes as she took in the diminutive figure standing in her way. Neo Politan stood casually before her, parasol resting lightly on her shoulder.

"I guess you dying back at Beacon was just too much to hope for."  
  
Neo smirked smugly in reply, though Yang noticed the woman's grip on her parasol tighten.  
  
Yang shifted her wrists, expanding Ember Celica and deploying the gun in her right arm. Yang wasn't going to waste anymore words. She had places to be.  
  
Neo's posture shifted, looking relaxed as ever, but this time around Yang caught the tightening of Neo's muscles.

  
  
The blonde began to walk forward, lifting her arms to bring her fists to bear. As she crossed the halfway point between them she accelerated without warning and closed the distance in an instant.  
  
She drew back her right arm, throwing a right cross straight at Neo's face. Neo's smirk widen just a hair as she shifted herself to Yang's right, effortlessly dodging the blow as it sailed inches by her face.  
  
The sides of Yang's mouth twitch upwards almost imperceptibly. Neo’s eyes widened in realization, but it was an instant too late. Before Neo could react Yang fired her right arm's weapon, quickly accelerating her arm back and driving her elbow into Neo's face.  
  
The force of the blow sent Neo's head reeling back, temporarily disorienting her. It only took her a fraction of a second to regain her senses, but Yang didn't give her that long. The moment her elbow made contact, Yang's left arm was already in motion.  
  
She threw a left jab straight into Neo's throat, immediately ducking down right after to deliver a right uppercut to the jaw that lifted Neo's feet off the ground. Following through with a half spin, Yang used the momentum and a burst from Ember Celica to slam her elbow into Neo's solar plexus before the killer had even hit the ground, finally loosening Neo's grip enough that she dropped her parasol.  
  
Yang didn't let up, refusing to give Neo even a moment. She couldn't give Neo the chance to get her footing, or risk her using an illusion or a hold. So the blonde laid on the pressure, favoring head blows to keep Neo disoriented.  
  
Unfortunately Neo wasn't on board with that plan. A particularly heavy blow threw the shorter woman back just enough for her feet to hit the ground and she capitalized on it, flinging herself to her left to roll under a right cross from Yang. Yang sprung forward immediately afterwards to get some distance, just barely avoiding a grab on her right arm.  
  
Yang wasn't going to let Neo get a hold on her. The fight on the train had shown Neo was an expert in holds and redirection. Yang had mass and reach, and she wasn't a slouch at grappling either. But she wasn't going to risk it if she could help it.

 

Turning back to face the silent woman, Yang was immediately put on the defensive. Neo had managed to pick up her parasol and flung it forward, using its open canopy to obscure Yang’s vision. Yang stepped back, shooting at the ground just beneath the edge of the unconventional weapon. The blast caught Neo off guard, but she smoothly turned the would be misstep into a backflip.

 

The shorter woman had just begun to look up when Yang was already upon her, the blonde’s left fist coming down in a straight from above. Neo managed to smirk through a sore lip and brought her closed parasol up to hit the inside of Yang’s extended elbow, diverting the blow. Neo then made to take hold the outstretched arm with both hands, but grabbed nothing but air as Yang fired a round from Ember Celica. The recoil pushed the blonde’s left side back, pivoting on her right foot. As she turned, Yang brought her robotic arm into a low underhand punch, her fist meeting Neo’s side and hitting her ribs.

 

Neo winced, striking out with the fist holding the parasol. Yang leaned her head back, dodging the punch but missing the follow up. Neo brought her left leg forward, hooking it behind Yang’s forward right, and lashed out with a swing from the parasol. The blonde brought Ember Celica up to block, but the force of the blow and Neo’s leg caused her to lose her footing, falling onto her back.

 

Rolling sideways, Yang narrowly avoided the following axe kick before rolling to her feet, just in time to take a kick in the gut. Rolling backwards with the blow, Yang transitioned into a handspring, back-flipping to land on her feet in a crouch. Punched forward three times, Yang fired an explosive round and two spread shots at the smaller woman. Neo flipped towards her over the explosive, fluidly opening the parasol and blocking Yang’s follow up shots in a side swing. Recognizing the motion, Yang hopped forward and to her left, trying to keep the canvas between them during the killer’s flourish.

 

Neo momentarily hesitated upon finding empty space where she expected her opponent. She once more closed her parasol, only to try and leap to her left upon realizing her mistake. But she was too slow. Yang was already beside her, the blonde’s fist slamming into Neo’s temple with full force before Neo’s feet had left the ground.

 

The strike sent Neo flying, hitting the ground once before the silent killer managed to twist into a proper landing. Her grip on the parasol had once again faltered as she bounced, the impact knocking it from her hands.

 

Not waiting for her enemy to get to her feet, Yang fired off two more shots, this time firing explosive rounds towards where Neo was landing. Her slugs were too slow, as by the time they hit the ground Neo had already flipped sideways once more, landing only slightly less gracefully than she had earlier. The petite woman lifted her head and stared daggers at the blonde, who was already bringing up her arms in preparation for the next exchange.

 

Neo wasn't standing as confidently as she had before, looking worse for wear. A trickle of blood spilled from a split lip and a bloody nose, with bruises beginning to form on her face and throat. Her breathing was a bit heavy, but that might have just been the slight wheeze she'd gained from the throat punch. Her smirk was long gone, lips pulled back into a snarl as her Aura flashed around her.  
  
As Yang took all this in, a sense of satisfaction came over her. It felt good to wipe that smug grin off that bitch's face. But she wasn't done. As long as Neo could move, she was a threat.

 

In the blink of an eye Neo launched forward. Rather than throw a punch to intercept, Yang brought her arms up in a defensive position and leaped back, the jump long and shallow so as to keep her feet close to the ground. Neo didn't miss a step and quickly closed that distance as well. She got in close and twisted around Yang, grabbing the blonde’s left arm and pulling it with her. The killer extended the captured arm out parallel to the ground, using it to get her own arm under Yang's shoulder and brought a kick to Yang's face.

 

Yang had not been idle, and as Neo raised her leg for the kick, Yang shifted her weight onto her right leg and used the left to sweep Neo's remaining leg out from under the shorter woman. Without any footing for leverage, Neo was unable to prevent Yang from twisting her arm out of Neo's grip. As she did, Yang grabbed a hold of Neo's left arm with her own left and pulled, spinning Neo around counterclockwise. Yang's longer reach meant the blonde's pull fully extended Neo's arm, and as it extended Yang brought up her right to deliver a blow straight into Neo's elbow.

 

There was a sickening crack as Neo's arm was bent at an unnatural angle. Neo silently screamed in pain and lashed out with her feet, breaking the hold and gaining some distance. Yang was immediately upon her, refusing to let Neo get away, but as Yang brought down another punch ‘Neo’ shattered into fragments with the sound of breaking glass.  
  
'Crap. Now where is she.' Yang thought, eyes scanning the room. She noticed that Neo's parasol was missing, meaning the criminal had likely grabbed it while under the illusion.  
  
A slight ruffle of air on her hair grabbed her attention before she felt an overwhelming murderous intent behind her, sending a tingling shock through her body. She ducked and spun to the left, just as Neo's blade pierced right where her heart had been. Mid-spin Yang's eyes flashed red and her hair shined like a supernova. Drawing her arm back, she completed the spin and drove her left fist straight into Neo's stomach, firing Ember Celica for good measure. Neo's Aura shattered, and the blast tore through the multi-colored criminal’s abdomen and out her back.

Neo's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. She slowly looked down at the fist in her abdomen and then raised her eyes to meet Yang's. The life had left them before they made eye contact.

 

Yang dropped the corpse off her arm, wiping the blood off her fist and Ember Celica with the still clean parts of Neo's petticoat before she walked away, face expressionless. She made it all of 14 steps before she began to shake. Then she promptly threw up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually the first fight scene I ever wrote. I wrote it the way I did because it was the only way I could think of to accurate describe what I wanted for a comic I planned to commission (and unfortunately never did). I then adjusted it to fit this story before Volume 5 started. Then made a last edit in Feb of 2018.
> 
> I'm predicting some will not be happy I killed Neo. My defense is that Yang has just gotten plain better, and is getting better at taking advantage of her aggressive style. Aggressive != dumb, and Yang has demonstrated that in the past. In my mind, the direction for her growth would be to build on that aggression, maintaining pressure, and adapting different ways to maintain that aggression which is what we see in the most of her fight with Adam, as well as building on her adaptability that we see in Yellow Trailer. Also, we see in the Neo fight that she was slowly adapting to Neo and even had grabbed hold of Neo before Neo ended it. And she's grown since then and hasn't been fighting for an entire day with little sleep. 
> 
> As for her reaction to killing being different from killing Adam, there's many reasons.  
> 1: I wrote this way before that, so, yeah.  
> 2: She actually sees the light leave Neo's eyes here, and she killed Neo with her own fist impaling Neo's abdomen. That's a lot more graphic than seeing the guy who took your arm and has tormented you partner (and future gf) stumble to a cliff than topple off, even if you did stab him.


	9. Blake and Sun Inflitration

"Da dum, da dum, da dum da dum da dum da dum da dummmmm-"

"Sun!" Blake hissed.

"What?" The blond asked, "It's not like there's anyone around to hear us right now. You said earlier this whole level is storage, so it’s the perfect time for sneaking music."

“There’s no reason to risk it!” Blake said, keeping her voice low.

Turning back around, Blake hiked up the bag over her shoulder and continued forward, her footsteps inaudible over the low hum of the ship echoing through the walls. Sun followed, not quite as stealthily, giving a slight pout to the back of the cat Faunus’ head.

The quiet lasted only a minute before it was broken once more.

“That was catchy though. Where did you learn it?"

A smug grin spread over Sun’s face before he answered, "Heard it from a panther Faunus I knew in Vacuo. Said it was an old family tune, something about a spy. Maybe one day you can meet ‘em."

Blake pondered that for a moment, a small smile on her face as she thought of the future.

The ravenette put aside those thoughts for later as the duo came to a fork at the end of the hallway.

“Soooo,” Sun drawled, “Which way now?”

Blake pulled her Scroll from her pocket and swiped through a few image files taken from Ilia’s Scroll. “Okay, so up to the right is a small storage room, and just passed that is a hallway with a maintenance shaft. We can take that down straight to the engine room, plant the bombs, then get out the way we came.”

“Sweet!” Sun said, walking ahead to open the door “Almost there, no sweat…” His words trailed off as he took in what was in the next room.

 

The room was massive, not a small storage room, but it certainly seemed small in comparison to what it contained. Slowly shifting in the center of the room laid a gigantic Grimm, and not either Faunus had ever seen before. It looked like a giant centipede, if centipedes had scorpion tails and glowing green crystals growing in patches along its body.

Upon hearing the door creak as Sun let go the Grimm whipped its head around, its attention laser focused on the two teens.

There was a beat, before the Grimm reared its head back in a unsettling screech. As the duo drew their weapons, Sun let out an exasperated sigh.

“Ah, shit.”

Blake had no time to respond before the pair were forced to jump apart, narrowly avoiding a glob of acid.

“What the hell is this thing?” shouted Sun, running towards the far wall opposite Blake.

Running alongside the opposite wall, Blake threw Gambol Shroud upwards towards the pipes along the ceilings. Hooking one, she just managed to swing over another acid spitball.

“It’s a mutant Grimm,” Blake shouted back, “We came across them on a mission back at Beacon. I don’t know how the White Fang got ahold of one, but it looks even more twisted than the ones back then.”

Blake hit the ground running, pulling her weapon from the ceiling before landing. “The crystals are explosive, so don’t hit them up close.”

Sun didn’t have the chance to respond as the Grimm chose that moment to change tactics. It surged towards him far faster than something that big had any right to move. He lunged sideways to avoid its mandibles, but was unable to avoid the follow up strike from the tail in midair. Barely managing to bring up his staff to block the tip, the impact sent him careening back and slamming heavily into the steel wall.

 

“Sun!”

 

Blake made to run towards the blond, before being forced to use her Semblance to avoid a rush from the Grimm. Ducking under the nasty looking claws, Blake let loose a flurry of slashes along the Grimm’s carapace.

The monster screamed then went still as its carapace went from black to a gunmetal gray before it detonated some of its crystals on its own.

Taken by surprise, the blast sent Blake flying backwards, hitting the ground and tumbling before rolling to her feet. Sun dropped to the ground by her side, having peeled himself from the wall.

 

“Okay. So it’s fast, strong, and goes boom. How do we kill it?” he asked, looking only a little worse for wear.

The dark haired teen’s response was cut off as the pair were forced to duck another glob of acid, the beast right behind it. Sun rolled sideways, dodging its mandibles and striking the creature across the head with his staff. The Grimm didn’t flinch, lashing out with its claws in retaliation.

At the same time, the centipede like monster jabbed at Blake with its tail. Blake used her Semblance to take the blow as she leapt high. Coming back down, she swung her sheath to try and sever the stinger from the tail. But the tail was too fast to pull back and the Faunus grit her teeth as her weapon hit the ground.

Her feet had barely hit the ground when the Grimm’s next stab reached her. This time Blake deflected the stinger to her side with the flat of her blade, though the force still sent her sliding back.

Taking a quick glance to see how Sun was doing, her eyes widened as she saw the carapace around the glowing crystals begin to change to that gunmetal gray once more.

 

“Sun, get back!” she shouted, using her Semblance to jump over the Grimm’s attempt to bring her closer with a sweep of its tail before sprinting for distance.

The monkey Faunus leapt just far enough back to dodge another row of legs before shooting the ground, obscuring both their vision. Sun then bolted from the blast zone while the monster tried to shake the dust and bits of metal from its eyes. The Grimm grew still once more as its entire body became encased in gray armor, then it detonated.

The pair managed to escape most of the explosion with Sun tumbling slightly, having been a bit closer to the blast.

Landing next to the blond, Blake briefly caught his eye before looking back at the Grimm. “It keeps trying to split us up, we need to take out the tail.”

Sun watched as it’s carapace changed back to black, movement returning to its body. “Why don’t we just shoot the crystals?”

Blake shook her head, “Unless you have explosive rounds, it won’t be enough to detonate them.” She looked down at her weapon and furrowed her brow before her face lit up. “I have an idea-”

Her next words were cut short as the two once more leapt away from an incoming glob of acid, followed by a rush attack from the centipede. Repeating the same attack plan as before, the monster tried to separate them, attacking Sun with its mandibles and legs and Blake with its tail.

 

Once more Sun was beset by a flurry of teeth and razor sharp legs. He switched Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang to their nun-chuck forms in an attempt to get in a shot at the Grimm’s vulnerable points.

Blake rolled under the first strike, using her hands to swap magazines in her weapon. As the beast struck again, Blake used her Semblance to dodge, this time trapping the stinger in an earth clone. The trick barely phased the Grimm, but did slow its tail down long enough for Blake to hop onto the stinger’s base and hook her transformed weapon around it. As the tail whipped back for another strike, Blake leapt off at the apex and sailed over a large pipe near the ceiling. Ribbon unraveling behind her as she fell, she called out, “Sun, now!”

Taking advantage of the centipede’s distraction at the resistance on its tail, Sun fired a couple of shots at its eyes and open mouth before hopping over its head and running down its length to jump to where Blake was now hanging. Making a pair of clones in midair, the doubles each grabbed on to the ribbon with one hand and the original with the other, adding their combined weight to the tail’s bindings.

With the tail now completely immobilized, Blake swung off the ribbon towards the stinger’s base. This time the sheath blade hit home, and she sliced through the connective tissue like butter. She tucked into a roll on landing, grabbing hold of the falling gun portion of her weapon, before sprinting away to avoid the Grimm’s retaliation.

The monster screamed in pain, its body flailing wildly.

Using the new distraction, the two Faunus regrouped once more. Sun handed Blake her ribbon as she explained her plan. She’d barely finished before the Grimm was upon them. It focused on Blake, attacking with claws and jaws in a frenzy. Blake was stuck on the defensive, unable to even attempt to strike back. Forced to spam her Semblance, she quickly depleted her current magazine’s Dust rounds. Thankfully the earth build up managed to slow down the Grimm just enough for Blake to switch ammo once more.

Shooting the Grimm in the face, the monster flinched for just a moment. That was all Blake needed. Sliding under a sweep of the Grimm’s legs, Blake ran towards one of the pulsating green crystals.

“NOW!” she shouted, leaping as high as she could and leaving behind a wispy looking clone. At the same time, a pair of translucent clones hurled Sun towards her from where they’d been waiting. Sun grabbed the other Faunus in midair, his inertia carrying both of them hurtling towards the open door on the other side of the room.

As the Grimm turned its head towards the soaring duo, one of its sharp legs stabbed the clone. The clone immediately erupted into flames, triggering the explosive crystal besides it. The explosion blew apart the unprotected carapace of the Grimm, the shock-wave catching the pair of Faunus and blasting them even faster through the door.

 

The duo flew down the corridor, ricocheting off the side wall and landing with a meaty thump when they reach the bend.

It took them both a minute to get their bearings. Shaking her head, Blake slowly blinked as she looked around. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of who was standing nearby.

 

“Yang?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes that was the Pink Panther theme he was humming.
> 
> I'm honestly not that pleased with this fight. It didn't really come together as easily in my head as some of the others, and I think that shows. I'm not really a writer, so I'm not gonna claim the others were great, but I feel they were better than this one. This is also one of the last things I wrote for this story before I just stopped for the last time.
> 
> The Grimm is based on the ones from Grimm Eclipse. I'm going to just assume Watts got ahold of the research and with Salem's help was able to make a boom-boom super!Grimm.
> 
> Also I'm very sorry, but please don't expect some big Beeunion next chapter. I wanted to write one, I truly did, but I couldn't think of anything that was good enough. I'm going to put a summary of what I had in the notes next chapter, but I just wanted to make sure no one got expectations from this as a cliffhanger. It wasn't even meant to be a cliffhanger, the reunion was going to take place right afterward and the chapters would have been posted back to back. But again, I just couldn't think of anything.


	10. Flight of the Bees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: This is the next major gap in chapters I never finished writing but were important to the story.
> 
> So, somewhere during the last two chapters, Weiss and Team _SSN were joined by other students of Haven. Then Scarlet manages to hijack a Bullhead that had come low to drop off more enemies, using a combination of his grappling hook and Gavin Free-style shenanigans. With other students now handling the different entrances to the campus, WSSN now feel that they can follow after Yang and reunite with Blake and Sun. And for some reason, Scarlet is flying, because he supposedly has his license. As you'd expect, he flies like Gavin.
> 
> As I said before, I never figured out a Beeunion that I was comfortable with. So I decided that they'd have a sort of rushed meeting and decide to sort it out when they weren't in the middle of a battlefield. So Blake and Yang have a brief reunion where they look at each other for a bit, then Yang hugs Blake saying, "we have a LOT to talk about" and Blake hugs back, both having slightly watery eyes. Sun waits a beat until it gets awkward and chimes in that, while this is great and all, they do have a mission here. The Bees pull apart and share a look saying that they will come back to this subject later. Blake then explains to Yang that they are going to plant bombs (gotten from Geoff) in the engine room, to which Yang nods and comes with them. She also reloads.
> 
> They follow the map and find the path they were following obstructed. Never decided why, either Ilia's map was wrong or there was damage or enemies they didn't want to alert. Regardless, the end up having to through some area where Bullheads can land. Again, I never decided where, whether it be the docking bay or a shortcut over the outside deck of the ship. There was supposed to be a fight with some new Atlas weapon, some upgraded Paladin or something, but it wasn't set in stone. The important bit was that WSSN land the Bullhead near them, but before they can exit something (enemy Bullhead fire, the mech, Grimm, w/e) happens that causes them to have to maneuver and dodge in a way where their Bullhead ends up falling off the ship and having to dive to regain control. The same thing causes Sun to go flying off, so maybe the Bullhead dived to catch him. But now Weiss and SSSN are in a Bullhead and separate from the Bees. The Bees continue on the mission and set the bombs before getting caught. Rather than fight their way out, they use a bomb to open up a hole in the hull and jump out as the chain of bombs start going off.

 

* * *

 

 

Yang and Blake jumped as the force of the first explosion in the chain pushed them forward.

 

Time seemed to stop as blonde hung suspended in the sky for an instant that felt like an eternity. She saw the dog fighting still going on around them, falling shrapnel from destroyed or damaged bullheads scattered amidst the battle. She saw pieces of the flagship’s armor already breaking off as the Menagerie sea vessel finally struck a blow. But what most drew Yang’s vision was her formerly absentee partner plummeting besides her. Like the blonde, Blake's arms were held at her sides in an attempt to minimize air drag and quicken her descent. The Faunus’ face was the very picture of focus as she tried to take in every detail below.

 

Time sped up again, and the two were hurtling towards the ground far below. They could hear the chain of bombs continue going off, the frequency increasing rapidly before a massive explosion rocked the ship. Yang’s eyes widened. This was too soon, they hadn't gotten out of range yet. Blake turned to look back at the explosion, but Yang didn't bother. Shifting her weight to angle herself towards Blake, she fired Ember Celica multiple times in succession, rocketing her towards the Faunus. Arms wide, the fiery huntress slammed into the other girl, the blonde’s outstretched arms wrapping tight around the other’s midriff as now both of them continued forward. The impact bled off most of Yang’s initial momentum, but it was enough to bring them to the falling plates of the massive airships broken armor.

 

Blake quickly caught on to Yang’s intentions and grabbed the closest slab of metal big enough to cover them as they slowed, positioning it between them and the exploding ship. The moment they were on the plate, the blonde tucked in and slid herself between Blake and the makeshift shield. Just as Yang managed to get in position, they were hit by the shock-wave of the biggest explosion yet. The shield protected the duo from the full blast, with Yang braced against it to further cushion Blake from the impact. But the force sent the metal plate careening towards the ground, and the girls along with it.

 

After making sure Blake was holding on to her tightly, Yang released her left hand from the metal and tightened her grip with her right hand so hard that the metal began to warp under the pressure. Firmly secured, Yang fired forward with Ember Celica, using the recoil to flip the former shield so that the pair was on top.

 

Blake's eyes darted about frantically, looking for some way to slow their descent. Upon spotting what she was looking for, Blake took aim. After a few seconds to time her shot, she threw Gambol Shroud forward and managed to wrap it around the wing of a passing bullhead. Gripping Yang tightly around the waist, Blake pushed off the makeshift shield and swung forward.  

 

Their feet had only just left the plate when their anchored bullhead was riddled with bullets. A few of which must have hit the wing they were hooked on, as the engine at the wing’s edge caught fire. As the fire reached the Dust supply the engine erupted, blowing off the entire wing, and Gambol Shroud along with it.

 

The explosion had loosened Yang’s grip on Blake, so when the remains of the wing were blown off the Faunus was yanked out of Yang's arms.

 

Yang grit her teeth, preparing to launch herself back towards Blake again. But before she could fire, she was rammed into by the nose of a bullhead. The one that shot down their would-be ride apparently wasn't just targeting other bullheads.

 

By the time Yang had peeled herself off the nose of the vessel, she saw that she had been taken much further from Blake, as well as much higher.

 

Yang turned back to look up towards the cockpit. Okay, now she was ticked. Lifting her right arm up, she took aim and fired. The round missed the cockpit glass and gouged a hole in the metal skin above it.

 

Rather than risk another shot hitting the windshield, the pilot tilted the aircraft forwards into a spinning nosedive. Yang slammed her right fist into the metal in front of her, lodging her fist to hold on. She then used the spinning to swing herself off of the ship's nose. Hanging from her makeshift handhold, Yang mentally counted before letting go. As the ship blew further down past her, the blonde’s false arm shot out and caught on to the hole she had created with her earlier shot.

 

Having seen her fly by the glass, the pilot pulled up and leveled out the vessel. Yang landed on the roof of the craft with a soft thump.

 

Getting her feet underneath her and holding tightly with her right hand, Yang jumped forward. Spinning in midair, she used that hold to swing herself feet first through the windshield and into the cockpit.

 

The huntress’s boots struck home on pilot's face, launching him backwards and leaving an indention on the wall behind him.

 

Hopping into the pilot seat, the blonde took hold of the controls and scanned the air for her partner. Spotting Blake a ways below, Yang slid the craft towards her target. Just as she lined up the craft's path, a large hand grabbed her by the collar and flung her back into the already damaged wall.

 

Getting to her feet, her eyes rose up to meet the face of a giant of a man. His mask hid his own eyes, but Yang was pretty confident that he wasn't happy to see her. ‘That’s okay,’ she thought, ‘I'm not in a very friendly mood either.’

 

She sprang forward in a left cross, which he deflected off of his right forearm. He responded with a textbook jab. Yang just managed to knock it aside with her right, but her eyes widened at the force behind it. This guy was strong. And obviously well trained. Whoever this was, he was no ordinary White Fang grunt.

 

“Okay Tiny,” Yang drawled, “Let's try that again.”

 

The newly dubbed Tiny brought his fists up in a stance similar to her own. A beat. Then he lunged. Yang brought her false arm to deflect his right jab past her shoulder, sliding into his guard and bringing her left to strike his abdomen. Tiny moved with the punch, lessening the impact, then brought his left hand down in a hammer blow towards her head. In the tiny cockpit there wasn't much room to maneuver, Yang's options were limited. She fired Ember Celica on her left and pushed herself back from the recoil. Tiny barely budged.

 

The Faunus didn't miss a beat, and was already moving before she'd finished skidding back. Yang just managed to get her arms crossed in a block to meet his punch, but she wasn't able to stop the low kick to the thigh. The hit to the leg destabilized her stance for less than a second, but that was enough time for her opponent. Tiny ducked down into a sweep kick that knocked Yang on her butt. She rolled to the side just in time to dodge his fist slamming the floor where her head had been. Rolling into a crouch, Yang burst forward into a punch to his head before the Fang member could pull his fist from the ground, the blow knocking him onto his side. Before Yang could capitalize on the opening, the craft rocked around them as it hit turbulence.

 

The two were thrown into the wall of the ship as the bullhead tilted and began to slide sideways into a dive.

 

Yang was the first to recover and she scrambled into the pilot’s seat to try and level out the vessel. But before she could pull up, she was forced to duck a punch to the head. In her dodge she knocked against the controls and caused the craft to jerk again.

 

Neither were knocked off their feet this time, but Tiny stumbled for just a moment. And that was all Yang needed. Pushing off the console, Yang put all her weight into a right punch to his face. The punch put them both through the door and into the bullhead’s hold.

 

Yang vaguely noted that when she hit the console she must have opened the bay doors, as both sides were exposed to the open air.

 

Rolling to a bench, the Faunus grabbed a pair of short poles with large cylinders on the end that had been sitting on the benches.

 

Yang got to her feet and rushed towards him, intent on knocking him out of the aircraft and ending this quickly. Tiny didn't get to his feet, instead he held the staffs forward and pointed the cylinders towards her. At this angle she could see that the top of the weapons had a spike jutting from the top, but her observation was cut short as a blast of air burst from the weapons and knocked the huntress off her feet and tumbling back towards the bay doors.

 

The blonde's reaction was immediate, and she brought both fists behind her and fired. The recoil pushed her forward and back into the hold, where she immediately grabbed onto the bench to secure a hold.

 

Pulling her fist back, she fired off a shot from her free hand. At the same time, Tiny fired off his wind blasts.

 

The two shots met in the middle and the combination of Wind and Burn Dust reacted violently, resulting in a fiery shock-wave that blew both combatants out of the craft.

 

Yang's head spun, her ears filled with a ringing noise. Shaking her head to get her bearings, the blonde found she was free falling a few body lengths away from the diving craft, though it was pulling away. Yang made to launch herself back to the ship, but was forced to abort as another wind blast fired right through where she would have been.

 

Looking up, Yang saw Tiny. And she realized what kind of Faunus he was.

 

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.”

 

The White Fang member hung above her with arms outstretched, large furry flaps of skin extended from his forearms and down to his legs. It looked like there were two long slits in the side of his outfit for the flaps to extend from, probably velcroed or button together when the skin was not in use.

 

“A freaking flying squirrel?” Yang had barely finished the last word before she was again forced to dodge another blast. Using Ember Celica to give her spin, she rolled out of the way of the attack before making another beeline for the craft. But as she closed in on the wing she fired straight downwards, rocketing herself up and once again narrowly avoiding the wind burst. Yang’s actions took Tiny by surprise, though he was still able to dodge her rising strike. The squirrel Faunus slid sideways enough that Yang flew up past him without making contact. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't able to dodge her on the way down.

 

As soon as Yang was above the Faunus, she brought her fists above her head and fired. Feet first, she hurtled towards his back, her heels slammed him in between the shoulders and sending shudders through his body. But Tiny was tough and quick to retaliate. As her feet left his back, the Faunus spun around and jabbed at Yang. Instinctively she pulled her face back, just narrowly avoiding the spike that extended out from the strange cylinder.

 

The spike quickly retracted, the cylinder spinning as it withdrew. At this range and without footing, Yang was unable to dodge the following wind blast. The shot hit her in the shoulder, sending her tumbling sideways. Tiny took the opportunity to spin back around and spread his limbs out again, the wind quickly sending him shooting above Yang.

 

The blonde tucked in her arms and transitioned the tumble into a roll, before spreading her arms wide to slow the spinning. Conservation of angular momentum did its job and she was able to get a clear view of her new position. Firing once to halt her spin, Yang quickly used Ember Celica once more to dodge another blast. Shooting again before her opponent could, Yang made a beeline for the craft.

 

The blonde had just made it underneath the wing when he fired again. She saw shrapnel fly from the side of the wing from her place behind it, but the wing remained solid. Yang climbed back into the hold and made to crawl into the cockpit when she saw the entire control console torn apart by yet another wind blast.

 

Those things were starting to annoy her.

 

Ducking back into the hold, Yang fired at the underside of the wing, aiming roughly where she thought he had hit earlier. Her second shot hit the mark and the wing tore off, hurtling upwards in a wild tumble. As she expected the Faunus had been waiting above, hiding just out of any line of sight from inside the ship, but freely able to take potshots.

 

As Tiny rolled to dodge the massive wing in a panic, Yang punched upwards and fired two explosive shells. The first hit the Fang member, blowing one of his weapons out of his hand and sending him off balance. The second struck home on the engine of the severed wing. This explosion set off the Dust in the engine and triggered an even bigger boom. Yang just managed to duck back into the hold as shrapnel went everywhere, but Tiny wasn't so lucky.

 

Yang peaked back out just in time to see his Aura flash, indicating it was low. She pulled back her fist to fire another shot at him when he reacted. Like lightning, he spun sideways and spread his arms. As Yang was making the slight changes in her aim, he fired his remaining weapon. The shot went wide, flying far above the blonde’s head and even over the craft. Yang almost smiled, until she saw his smirk.

 

That was all the warning she had before she was thrown out of the exploding craft. Even so, it was enough for her to launch herself forward as the heat hit her back. The blonde curled into a ball as the blast sent her cannon-balling out, her shot angling her towards Tiny.

 

The Faunus made to thrust at her with his spike, but just barely missed as she unfurled from the ball, spike jabbing right in front of her stomach.

 

Yang came out of the ball just in time to land her feet on the corpse of the severed wing from before. As soon as her feet hit the metal, she propelled herself back off, this time directly at the gliding man. Arm still outstretched, Tiny was unable to bring up any defense when Yang's fist slammed into his head. His Aura shattered.

 

The strike sent him hurtling towards the jagged husk of the bullhead, limbs flailing wildly as he tried to right himself. There was a sickening squelch as he hit the ship, audible even over the roaring of wind in her ears. Looking closely, Yang saw that he had been impaled by the jagged bars of what was once the frame of the vessel. A larger one had taken out most of his chest cavity. He must have died instantly.

 

Yang could feel the sickening sensation coming, but she clamped down on it. She'd deal with it later, right now she needed to get to Blake.

 

The entire fight had disoriented her and the blonde had completely lost any sense of where she her partner was. As she peered around, she saw a large mass of Griffin gathered around something.

 

A brief flash of white cloak confirmed her suspicions. It was Blake.

 

Yang slightly tilted to glide above the wreckage then carefully dipped into a shallow dive.

 

As she landed on the husk of the bullhead, she deliberately avoided looking at the corpse of her former opponent. The blonde crawled to the part of the ship closest to her target and took aim. There wasn't anything between her and Blake. She needed to make this leap count.

 

On some unseen signal, Yang sprung forwards and upwards, her jump punctuated by multiple shots from Ember Celica. Keeping her limbs straight, her body like an arrow, she soared towards Blake faster than she'd ever moved before.

 

As she got closer, Yang was able to better see what was going on. She fired again to speed up at what she saw.

  


<See End Notes 1>

 

Blake was swarmed. The Grimm were relentless. The Faunus girl had quickly figured that it was easier and more effective to cripple their wings rather than kill them, but it did little good when she was too busy dodging to get in a strike. This close, her Semblance was really the only way she could maneuver in free fall. She knew she couldn't keep this up. Spotting a Griffin a little farther outside the group, Blake hurled the projectile portion of Gambol Shroud. Feeling it wrap tightly around its target, Blake kicked off of a Griffin that tried to capitalize on her distraction. Using the kick, Blake swung downwards and out of the huddled Grimm, coming under and up around the hooked Griffin. Landing on its back feet first, Blake leaped off and back towards the swarm, making sure to slash at her makeshift platform’s wings as she did.

 

As that particular Grimm fell, the other were already turning to give chase. Blake reached them before they had fully turned, blades first. She fell through the mob, slashing at as many shapes as she could see around her.

 

She fell through the Griffins holding themselves aloft in a huddled mass of confusion, straightening her body in order to descend quicker. She tried to put as much distance as she could between her and the Grimm, but her surprise attack only left them confused for a moment. She'd fallen for barely more than a second when she heard the sound of ruffling feathers behind her, indicating they were following her dive. Blake looked back to see her pursuers, noting that she'd taken out far more than she'd thought with that last attack. Less than half were on her tail. The Faunus drew back her arm to fling Gambol Shroud again, but before she completed the throw a golden mass slammed into the lead Griffin from the side. The remaining Grimm plowed through the cloud of feathers and confusion where the lead Griffin once was, snapping Blake out of her shock. The Faunus hurled her weapon into the mass of Grimm, latching onto something in the back. With a mighty tug Blake pulled herself upwards, slashing through the cloud of feathers and talons again faster than they could react.

 

Coming through the end of the swarm, Blake's look of satisfaction turned to horror as she saw she was now on a direct path to a giant Nevermore.

 

She just managed to get a clone up as a massive talon closed where she had been, yanking Gambol Shroud off of the massive beast in the process. Pushing off of the clone straight back down, Blake was even more frustrated to find that the remaining Griffin were now heading up towards her.

 

She was pinned in.

 

“Blake!”

 

Said Faunus looked to where she had heard the call and saw Yang falling to her right, her hand outstretched, palm upwards.

 

Blake wondered what the blonde was thinking, they were way too far apart for her to reach her hand.

 

The confusion quickly dispelled as Blake realized what Yang wanted. Again, the raven haired huntress hurled her weapon. Yang caught the toss with her right hand, which she immediately fired. At the same time, she fired her left arm that was pointed behind her. The resulting recoil spun the blonde forcefully, dragging Blake towards Yang and out of the reach of the Grimm.

 

The Nevermore and the Griffin collided, though unfortunately not hard enough to kill any of them.

 

As the Grimm untangled themselves, Blake reached Yang’s side, said girl having just managed to halt her spin.

 

They didn't share words, only eye contact as they tried to think of a plan. Blake's eyes widened as an idea formed, and she held up Gambol Shroud. Yang looked between the weapon and the Grimm before nodding.

 

Again Blake threw the smaller half of her weapon at the Nevermore, this time wrapping around its neck. Holding tight to each other, the pair streamlined their bodies and plummeted further down from the flying Grimm. As they reached the end of Gambol Shroud's ribbon, the line pulled taut, yanking down the head of the Nevermore in a sudden jerk and bringing the girls swinging underneath the mob.

 

On the swing upwards, Yang reach down and fired Ember Celica repeatedly, each shot propelling the duo higher and higher until the two were now hanging in the air above the Grimm.

 

Separating, the two shifted so that the soles of their feet were flat against each other. Yang was crouching upright and Blake was crouching upside down below her. Yang lifted her arms above her head and fire skywards and pushing down with her feet simultaneously.

 

Blake pushed off as well, using the force from Yang to accelerate faster towards the oncoming Grimm.

 

Swinging herself into a spin, Blake came down on the Nevermore as a whirling dervish of blades. She sliced through its neck like butter and continued downwards, treating the remaining Griffin to the feeling of what's it's like to be in a garbage disposal.

 

As she bottomed out past the disappearing bodies, Blake fired a few more shots to slow her spin. As she did, she caught sight of something that made her heart freeze. A White Fang bullhead was pulling off from shooting down a Menagerie craft and headed her way, its sights clearly trained on her.

 

She made a clone and pushed off, snapping out of her spin and just dodging a spray of bullets. The bullhead swept by overhead, but it was very quickly turning around for another pass. Blake pulled out both blades, plan in mind. The enemy craft came by again, letting off another spray of bullets. Once again Blake used a clone to dodge, but was forced to block several more as the gunner got wise to her plan.

 

As the bullhead passed overhead again, Blake chucked her hook like weapon at the bullhead. Fear gripped her heart as the bullhead went into a spin, leaving Gambol Shroud to go sailing harmlessly past.

 

Blake yanked harder than she ever had, but she knew her weapon wouldn't make it back in time.

 

Once more the ship pulled around, having used the spin to lead into a sharper turn. Blake tried to block again, using the cleaver's width as a shield. Unfortunately one bullet got through and bounced off her head. Her Aura stopped the bullet, but the impact sent her into a daze.

 

Yang’s eyes grew a brilliant scarlet as she saw Blake go limp, and the White Fang ship diving down after her. Her focus narrowed as the world seemed to sharpen. Firing Ember Celica, Yang propelled herself towards the Menagerie vessel desperately trying to stay aloft. Upon getting to it, Yang grabbed tightly onto the side of the ship and flung herself towards the bottom. In one smooth motion, Yang reached the hull and planted her feet on the bottom with her body crouched upside down. Then, she launched herself from that position, firing her weapons until she ran out of ammo to speed her up.

 

As she closed in she glowed brighter and brighter, until what could only be described as a golden fireball streaked towards the White Fang ship. The flash of light out-shined the sun as she impacted the ship, flying straight through completely unimpeded.

 

The ship didn't fare as well, the force of the impact blowing a massive hole straight through the center of the vessel, taking out most of the insides and leaving what was left on fire.

 

Then it exploded.

 

Outracing the shrapnel, Yang caught up to Blake, grabbing onto her and pulling her in tight.

 

As the ground became increasingly closer, Yang shift their positions so that she was underneath Blake. Using the one hand, she reached to reload the hand gripping Blake, racing to slow down their descent. Fortunately for her, she saw another vessel approaching in a dive besides them. The craft was smoking and wobbling, but she recognized the faces in the cockpit. Abandoning her reloading, she threw Blake's weapon once more, wrapping around the bullhead's wing. As soon as she did, the bullhead pulled up, swinging the pair along with it.

 

With some strange aerial maneuvering that Yang was pretty sure was impossible even as she watched it, the bullhead had managed to fling the black and yellow duo above it. Tilting sideways, the vessel opened the bay door for the girls land in. Landing not so gracefully in the hold, Yang felt they did pretty good compared to being smeared on the grounds below.

 

Weiss was waiting in the hold, immediately setting to work helping Blake get secured. Hesitant to leave Blake, Yang reached over from where she was standing next to Blake and lightly kicked the door.

 

The door opened as another blond head popped out. His face turned from amusement to worry as his eyes fell on Blake.

 

Looking back up to Yang, he opened his mouth to say something. But before he could inhale Weiss cut him off.

 

“She'll be fine. Look, she's already coming to.”

 

Blake's eyes blinked slowly as she regained consciousness. Shaking her head, then letting out a hiss of pain, she looked around.

 

“We made it?” She asked, taking in her teammates and Sun.

 

“Yep!” Sun piped in before the others could say anything. “You and Yang were all like 'Wachow, slice slice, BOOM!’ and then you fell,” he said, “then Scarlet up there managed to catch you.”

 

He paused. “He also maybe might have broken the landing gear when he landed on the carrier, and maybe sorta screwed up the gyroscope something while catching you. So, uh, buckle up.”

 

As he finished he immediately rushed back into the cockpit and closed the door. Despite the thick steel the door was made of, which Yang was now intimately familiar with, they could still hear Sun.

 

“Scarlet you idiot! What were you doing! You had one job! Swiss fucking cheese, how did you break the fucking ship!!”

 

The girls looked at each other. There was a brief pause before all three began scrambling to get secured into their seats.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: There was supposed to be more fight for Blake as she fell, but I lost steam. Also, hand-to-hand is much easier for me to visualize and write than the more fantastical fighting styles like Blake's, so it was a lot harder to write. Which I'm kind of ashamed of, because I know how Yang-centric what I wrote is, so I wanted to give Blake more badass moments. The potential mech fight might have been a chance for that too, now that I think about it.
> 
> 2\. Sun with Scarlet is basically Michael with Gavin from Achievement Hunter. Basically, bar Ryan (because Port isn't here) all of the core 6 Achievement Hunters are going to show up in some shape or form.


	11. Monster Truck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: This is yet another one where there's a transitional scene that I never wrote. Those are going to happen pretty frequently at this point.
> 
> Okay, so this one is a bit weird in it's placement. It can happen simultaneously with the next chapter, or for a long time afterwards. But I wanted to break up the Yang time.
> 
> Between this one and the last one, the Bullhead WBY and SSSN were in crashes, and it's not the smoothest crash landing. Yang gets hurled out more than the rest and given how much she's been fighting without break, she's starting to run a bit low on Aura. Blake declares that she will stay with Yang while Yang rests for a moment while Weiss and SSSN go on. Blake shuts down any protest from Yang with a half stern/half pleading expression.
> 
> Weiss and SSSN head on, but then they split up, Weiss going to reunite with RNJROQ and SSSN going to rejoin the other students.
> 
>  
> 
> ALSO IMPORTANT: This chapter is mainly for fun. These characters will not be important and are solely something to amuse myself.
> 
>    
> Finally, this is not the stupidest thing I've ever written, but damn if it isn't close.

 

* * *

 

 

Neptune slammed the butt of his trident across the face of a ferret Faunus, knocking the White Fang member out for the count.  
  
Realizing that he had taken out all the enemies in his immediate vicinity, the teen took a minute to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He looked across the battlefield, trying to find where he'd be most useful.  
  
There was Scarlet and Sun, weaving around each other seamlessly. They looked for all the world like they were in perfect harmony, except for the constant string of profanities they were yelling at each other.  
  
Neptune smirked a little as he continued to scan the area. Those two were fine.  
  
After checking on a few other allies, the blue haired Huntsman's eyes fell upon Team JRMY doing... something. [1]  
  
Jade and Maroon ran side by side towards an Ursa Major. Leaning down, the two barreled the Grimm over with a duel shoulder tackle. The pair fell with the beast, their weight caving in its chest as they turned their falls into front rolls. Springing right back to their feet, the identical students turned and grasped hands while skidding to a stop. They turned back and called out a synchronized "Haptup hup!"  
  
Red, having been right behind them, leapt forward to land into their cupped hands, before springing skywards with an extra boost from his teammates.  
  
"Hap hap hap!" He shouted on his way up. At the zenith of his arc, the red haired quadruplet tucked into a flip, coming out into a flying elbow drop towards a cluster of Creeps.  
  
"Hap-HAAAAP!"  
  
Red's elbow caught fire as he let out his war-cry, his attack slamming right into the Creep in the center of the group and instantly crushing it. The elbow continued unimpeded, shattering the ground beneath it with a massive orange shock-wave that tore apart the surrounding Grimm.  
  
Neptune raised an eyebrow. That was a new one. The team must have been practicing during the break.  
  
Then the N of team SSSN paused. Where was the fourth member of the quadruplet team?  
  
A cry of terror and sharp clicking snapped him out of his pondering. Whirling to his right, he cursed. A Deathstalker. He swore again upon seeing what was behind it. Two Deathstalkers. How did the White Fang bring in a Deathstalker, let alone a pair?  
  
While he racked his brain for the best way to approach the new threat, a rumbling roar drowned out the Grimm's clicks. The ground shook a bit before a giant purple and orange monster flew over the wall to land on one of the giant arthropods.  
  
"HAP! TAP! HAP-TAH-HAP!” [2]  
  
The engine roared again as the Monster Truck shredded the Deathstalkers broken armor under its massive wheels. The monster truck then tore off towards the remaining Deathstalker, with Y shouting the nonsensical song of his people as he drove.  
  
Neptune blinked in disbelief. What the hell had those four been doing?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun for me. Hopefully you guys liked it.
> 
> 1\. Team JRMY is a team of 4 short guys who all look like Jeremy from Achievement Hunter but with different color hair (and one is bald), since Jeremy went through a period where he dyed his hair different colors before finally shaving it and keeping that look. 
> 
> The idea came from their Let's Play of Grimm Eclipse with Micahel (VA of Sun, playing as Yang), Lindsay (VA of Ruby, playing as Ruby, duh), Ryan (VA of Port, playing as Blake) and Jeremy (playing as Weiss). They made a comment about how Jeremy was the only one not in the show and came up with the idea of an entire team of Jeremys who's Semblance was that they could combine together like Voltron into a regular sized person (Jeremy is short). Also, Jeremy discovered that when you did the air dash as Weiss, she made these little white trails behind her, so that led to him making "Hap hap" noises as he did it. I highly recommend looking up the video on Youtube by Kikyobutt called "Jeremy In RWBY (HAPHAPHAP)" to get an idea.
> 
> So Team JRMY can only talk in Haps, and no one knows what they're saying. So, they are called by their hair colors; Jade, Red, Maroon, and Y (as in "whY is he bald?"). They use a combination of wrestling moves and gymnastics, as Jeremy was a gymnast and is a wrestling fan.
> 
>  
> 
> 2\. He's saying "I! AM! MONSTER TRUCK!" which is a reference to a GTA video where Jeremy discovered he's really good at driving the monster truck and made that a running joke. Also, Purple and Orange are the colors of Jeremy's "alter ego", Rimmy Tim, so they're his favorite.


	12. Qrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is after WBYSSSN crash the Bullhead, as Weiss makes it to the scene in the background of this chapter.

 

* * *

 

 

A shotgun blast to the chest knocked down the elephant Faunus mid-charge, followed by an upwards swing that sent a sword beam skywards, taking out the wing of the bullhead that dropped him off while it was still in Qrow's line of sight. This was getting tiresome. There seemed to be no end to these guys. And while they weren't too tiresome to take out individually, the sheer quantity was taking its toll.

 

Qrow and the kids, bar Yang and Weiss, had just met with Lionheart in the main hall when the invasion started. They’d been caught by surprise, Yang’s warning coming moments too late, and had been forced to hold their position in the building while using the entrance way as a choke point for the enemy. The teens had wanted to advance to push the White Fang back, and Qrow had been inclined to agree with them. At least until Lionheart had assured them that Huntsmen were on their way and they should just hold out until they arrived. Apparently the Council had approved the attack on the Branwen tribe with a little convincing, on the caveat that it was done immediately with the Huntsmen already available. The heavy machine gun fire from bullheads hovering right outside the entrance way didn't exactly hurt Leo’s argument.

 

Qrow was in the middle of wiping some sweat from his brow when he heard it. The familiar sound of a certain Semblance. That was all the warning he got before he was beset with an equally familiar red blade.

 

“Raven!” Qrow growled, just managing to bring Harbinger to block. “What are you doing?”

 

Raven smirked, though there was no humor in her eyes. “Isn't it obvious, brother? I'm surviving.”

 

Qrow snarled, “You joined with Salem?” He pushed off Raven’s blade, bringing his own into a horizontal swipe. Raven back-flipped over the slash before bring her sword into a block to Qrow’s follow up.

 

Qrow pressed forward on Harbinger, using his slight height advantage to add to the force.

 

“Running away was one thing, but this? You crossed the line,” Qrow's voice dripped with venom.

 

“I did what was best for the tribe,” Raven responded coolly. She lashed out with her right leg, hitting her twin in the gut and sending him skidding back. She pounced after him, keeping on the offensive pressure.

 

Raven swung twice, her blade coming down in an X shape. Qrow blocked the first before flipping sideways over her head to avoid the second. The bandit leader spun around, continuing the momentum of the last attack to bring her sword into a slash at her twin’s left hip. Harbinger was already in motion before Qrow's feet touched the ground, successfully deflecting the strike upwards to his side. As Raven's blade slid along his, Qrow brought one hand off of Harbinger’s hilt and threw a right cross at his sister's face.

 

The punch connected, sending Raven skidding back. She readied her blade to block Qrow's predicted follow up slash, but was forced to leap sideways as Qrow fired a shotgun blast instead.

 

“Traitor!” Qrow spat, firing twice more, “You don't care about the tribe, you never have. They were just another excuse when you ran!”

 

Raven dodged both shots as nimbly as the first, each leap bring her closer before she came down from the last jump in a downwards blow. Qrow's knees shook a little as he brought Harbinger to block.

 

“Me, a traitor? I could say the same to you. Planning to attack your own sister?” Raven snarked as her feet touched the ground.

 

Her twin’s eyes widened in realization. “Leo,” he whispered in disbelief. Leaping back to avoid Raven's next attack, he turned slightly to his side to look at Haven’s headmaster on the staircase, still keeping one eye on Raven. “Leo, what have you done?” he demanded, voice almost trembling in rage.

 

Rather than follow to strike again, Raven sheathed her sword and casually strode towards Lionheart, though Qrow caught the cylinders in her sheath rotating. He kept his weapon raised between him and his sister, rotating to keep her in front of him as she walked. As his eyes swept around, he noticed that Raven hadn't come alone. The false Fall Maiden and her lackeys had followed her, as well as some other girl, probably the Spring Maiden. The grey haired punk immediately ran outside after counting those in the hall, while the green haired one slowly circled where Cinder was fighting Ruby's group, her muscles tense like a snake waiting to strike. The Spring Maiden was fighting the mini Ice Queen, who’d apparently shown up sometime after Raven attacked. Oscar was nowhere to be seen. His observation was cut off when Raven spoke again.

 

“Leo did what any sane person would in his position. He looked at all the information he had, assessed the situation, and made a choice.” Raven explained. Leo's face sunk as she spoke. While apparently she proudly stood by her actions, it was clear he did not feel the same.

 

“You betrayed us. You sold us out, you sold out everyone. _Both of you!_ ” Qrow’s voice rose until he was almost shouting. He lunged forward at Raven, attempting to take the offensive. He came in fast, but was forced to divert his strike into a block as Raven drew her sword into a slash, the move accelerated by her sheath.

 

“We could beat her together,” Qrow growled through grit teeth as he knocked his twin's sword upwards and jabbed at her with Harbinger's pommel. Raven swatted the blow aside, easily keeping up with her tired sibling's speed and swinging down in another vertical blow.

 

“Don't you get it Qrow, there is no beating Salem.”

 

Qrow sidestepped, giving a horizontal swing to capitalize on Raven's opening. But Raven was faster and brought up her sword in a sideways block.

 

“So that's it, you just give up?” Qrow grunted as Raven pushed him back. He leapt over her follow up, responding in kind only to be blocked again.

 

“The strong live. The weak die. I intend to survive.”

 

“And Yang?” Qrow’s tone sounded more like an accusation than a question.

 

Raven paused for less than a second. “She made her choice.”

 

Qrow grunted as he only partially dodged a kick to the gut, racing to bring up his weapon in another block. “She did. And she's gonna follow through with it. Because she's strong.”

 

“She takes after her mother.” Raven said, a hint of pride in her voice.

 

“You’re right. She's strong. She's brave. She stands by her own.” He smirked,

“She's just like Summer.”

 

Raven's eyes narrowed and her attacks became more frenzied.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't care if it was heavy handed, I'm pleased with that little jab at Raven at the end.
> 
> Now on to the side notes.
> 
> While this is happening, Oscar took the opportunity to hide and is trying to sneak up on Lionheart while he's distracted by the Branwen twins. I didn't really give him much thought for this part.
> 
> I went with a lot of canon, because I got to this part while the finale was going on, and with the pieces they set up in canon, I had a lot of trouble trying to think up a radically different result. It worked out that the place where they met is right in front of the entrance, because Cinder wants to go there as soon as possible. But they had to invite Qrow to meet them at that spot because Raven said she wanted to kill Qrow. They didn't expect the kids.
> 
> There are some differences though. Raven didn't show up in bird form, she portal'd to Qrow and the others followed. So they did not expect the kids, and planned to overwhelm a tired Qrow, after letting the White Fang tire him out.
> 
> Hazel still hasn't arrived yet though.


	13. RNJR vs Cinder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so let's get this out of the way.
> 
> I HATE this chapter. I despise it. The dialogue is mostly awful and cheesy and reminds me of why I am not a writer. And I left so much unfinished. I planned to rewrite almost all of it at some point, but kept putting it off until I just lost interest.
> 
> When writing this my goal was to not write Jaune out, to show Ren and Nora also caring for Pyrrha, to get everyone involved with Cinder, and to change the whole shit with Weiss getting impaled. And in my effort to overcome my natural inclination to ignore JNR, I went overboard. 
> 
> Again, during this chapter, Weiss is fighting Vernal and is actually putting up a decent fight using Glyphs and swordplay. Quick summons of the smaller Grimm helps give her space, but she doesn't try summoning the Knight. Unfortunately this is another one of those parts I didn't get around to writing.
> 
> Notes at the bottom of the chapter are super important this time!

 

* * *

 

 

“Uncle Qrow!” Ruby shouted, as the mystery woman leapt from the portal to attack the tired Huntsman.

 

The teen pointed her weapon behind her, intent on joining in to help, when she was frozen by a voice full of such hatred that it shook the girl to her core.

 

“Ruby Rose.” 

 

Said scythe wielder turned to face the voice, her eyes widening as she saw its source.

 

“Cinder.” Ruby spat out the name as if it left a vile taste in her mouth.

 

“You’re going to regret what you did to me, girl.” Cinder’s voice still dripping with malice, “And I’m going to enjoy this.”

 

The last words had barely left her mouth when the air ignited. An enormous gout of flames erupted from her suddenly outstretched hand, headed right for Ruby.

 

Ruby fired, not even bothering to try and reposition her weapon. The recoil sent her high into the air, but before the teen could even decide on a new trajectory she felt the heat Cinder’s next attack. A quick jerk of her scythe and another shot sent her speeding towards the ground, her Aura barely stopping the edge of the attack from melting her face off.

 

The red cloaked girl hit the ground hard, bounced, and caught herself into a stumbling run. After a few steps she stabbed her scythe into the ground, pivoting on the blade to swing herself towards Cinder and barely avoiding the blast of flame that incinerated the spot where she would have been.

 

Hurtling towards Cinder in a crimson drill of rose petals, Ruby drew back her scythe just before she reached the Maiden and swung as she got in range. The blade whistled through the air, but hit nothing as Cinder spun and duck under the blow. As the woman came out of the spin, she slammed her foot into Ruby’s back. The kick knocked the teen of balance, and her own momentum sent her flying forward before landing in a disoriented heap.

 

Cinder smirked as she turned to face the silver eyed girl. Lifting her hand, she let loose another gout of fire, intent on finishing the one who’d marred her face.

 

The size of the flame consumed her sight. She poured on the fire for what felt like minutes before lowering her arm, confident that the would-be “silver eyed warrior” was nothing but a scorch mark on the ground. As the smoke cleared, her smirk was replaced with an ugly scowl.

 

Where there should have been a nothing but ash was a white shield, huddled over the girl.

 

The figure behind the metal rose, and she saw a blond mop of hair peek out over the top. Slowly the shield lowered and the blond’s face took on a scowl to match her own.

 

“Never again. You’re never hurting my friends again, you goddamn monster!”

 

Cinder paused. Her expression relaxed until she was left with an indifferent frown.   
  
“Who are you?”

 

Jaune’s eyes widened, then narrowed as his face hardened.

 

“I’m the partner of the girl you murdered.”

 

The smirk returned to Cinder’s face at the response. “Oh, the Nikos girl. Such a shame she threw her life away, but it couldn’t be helped. After all,” Her eyes glittered in dark humor. “It was her destiny.”

 

Jaune’s head bowed and his body began to tremble.

 

“What is wrong with you? How can you take so many lives, hurt so many people, and act like it’s something to be proud of? All with that damn smile on your face!” He lifted his head to face her with eyes streaming down his face. 

 

“I’m going to make you pay for what you did,” he shouted, his voice breaking. “We’re going to make you pay!”

 

The woman frowned, before lifting her hand again and resuming her flames. 

 

“Nora!” Jaune shouted.

 

Cinder’s eyes widened before she leaped to the side, grenades exploding on the place she once stood. Her feet had barely hit the ground when she was beset by a enraged ginger with a massive hammer.

 

“How could you!” Nora screamed almost hysterically as she swung, tears in her eyes as well. “How could you just take her away!” 

 

Nora swung down hard, but Cinder sidestepped the strike before grabbing the handle. With a yank, she flung the hammer to the side, and Nora along with it.

 

She had not even drawn back her hand before she dodged an incoming blow from her blind spot, sliding back as she quickly regained her balanced.

 

Ren kept on the pressure, his hands a green blur of flashing blades. 

 

“You speak of destiny, but you knew nothing about her,” his voice wavered with barely restrained fury.

 

The dark haired man went for a high swing and extended just a hair too far. Cinder capitalized on the mistake and lashed out with a front kick, before following up with another fireball.

 

Jaune hurled himself in the way, shield raised, just barely managing to deflect the fire.

 

Cinder lifted her hand further to simply wrap the fireball around the shield when her instincts screamed. On reflex she bent backwards at the hip, just barely avoiding a scythe blade to the neck.

 

“Pyrrha was kind! She only ever wanted to help people!” Ruby cried as she followed her swing with a gunshot boosted twirl into another slash. Gaining momentum, Crescent Rose whistled as it sliced through the air.

 

Quickly gaining her footing, Cinder ducked and weaved through the whirling dervish, though her dodges became more strained as Ruby picked up speed. Tiring of this whelp that had dared to mar her face, Cinder stepped back. Drawing deeper on the power within her, the Fall Maiden exploded. A massive ball of fire expanded in all directions, with her at the center. 

 

Ruby had no choice but to disengage, or else be consumed by the flame. 

 

Standing proud in the middle of her display of strength, Cinder’s cocky smirk returned in full force. She took a moment to savor her power but was cut short when she flipped backwards to avoid a shield bash, her flames dying in her distraction.

 

Jaune turned around to face her, shield raised, parts of him scorched and smoking but otherwise unharmed. 

 

He lunged forward with his shield for another bash, but Cinder was ready. She spun around the blow and side flipped over the following upward slash he had hidden behind the shield. Her first foot had barely touched the ground when she reached up to grab an incoming Ren, rotating her hand and flinging him into Nora. The red head was forced to cut off her swing so as not to hit her partner, and both were sent tumbling back in a heap.

 

The boy had barely left her hands when she formed an obsidian sword to block multiple shots from Ruby, the girl standing out of range of Cinder’s fireballs, the blade of Crescent Rose driven into the ground. 

 

Hearing footsteps approaching to her right, Cinder’s raised whatever was under her flowing left sleeve and unleashed another gout of flames at Jaune. 

 

Catching the fire on his shield, Jaune slowly pushed forward, straining at the force of the flames. 

 

As he finally got within range, Jaune brought his sword into a side swing around his shield. At the same time, Ruby fired another round aimed straight at Cinder’s chest. Cinder made to step back, until she saw Nora also bringing her hammer in a low swing from behind.

 

Cinder leaned back to dodge the bullet, but before she could handle the other attacks she flinched as a barrage of bullets rang out against her Aura. She had only enough time to notice Ren unloading his weapons from her blind spot before she took Magnhild to the small of the back. The blow knocked her forward into Jaune’s slash.

 

Unfortunately, Cinder had not gotten to where she had on her looks. In an amazing display of acrobatics, Cinder shifted her weight in midair, spinning over the sword, her nose coming within a hair’s width from the blade. 

 

Not even bothering to land, she rotated her body upright while still in the air, before floating upwards to hover high above them.

 

“Enough!” Cinder roared, a brief burst of scorching wind exploding outwards.

 

The group braced themselves against the display of power, glaring defiantly as they held their ground. They didn't give a single inch.

 

Cinder’s eyes narrowed add her lip curled in disgust. “If you children miss your friend so badly, then I'll be happy to reunite you.”

 

With a wave of her hand she created a multitude of spears to hang in the air before her. Another wave and the spears were sent hurtling towards the teens.

 

Jaune jumped in front of Ruby, who was nearest, and covered them both with his shield. Nora managed to block the one coming her way, putting everything she had into the swing to overcome the force. In her distraction she missed the spear flying in the shadow of the first.

 

Ren didn't.

 

“Nora!” he cried, pushing her out of the way with a panicked leap. His momentum spent, he had no time to dodge or block before the spear struck. 

 

The spear pierced his weakened Aura, stabbing through his back and coming out below his chest. His legs crumbled and he fell to his knees, eyes widening before glazing over. Blood dribbled out from his mouth and he let out a raspy gasp. Slowly, he brought up his hands to try and grasp the shaft jutting from his abdomen, his arms shaking before falling limply to his sides.

 

Nora looked up from where she was thrown just in time to see her partner’s arms fall. Her face paled a ghastly white and her pupils shrunk to pinpricks.

 

“Ren,” she whispered, her mind still trying to process what she saw. Panic overcame her as the sight finally registered.

 

“REN!” 

 

He redhead scrambled over to her partner, dropping her hammer in her haste. It didn't matter. The fight didn't matter. Nothing mattered except Ren.

 

Jaune and Ruby went rigid at Nora's cry, before turning their attention towards its source. 

 

“Oh no,” Jaune whispered, “No. No no no no.”

 

Uncaring of Cinder, he sprinted over to his teammates. Overcome by the dread of his worst fear happening yet again, his legs gave out beneath him as he neared the pair, his momentum sending him sliding the last few feet.

 

“Jaune. Jaune, Ren. Please, Jaune. I can't. Oh God please, Jaune, help him!”

 

Nora babbled frantically, arms tight around the black haired teen. The spear had disintegrated and a dark red was seeping through the green clothes.

 

“Put pressure on him!” Jaune shouted, tearing off the tails of Ren’s shirt and pressing them onto the wounds. 

 

“Not again. Please, please, not again.” The blond repeated the mantra to himself racking his brain for a way, anything, to save his friend's life. “Ren. Ren, please! I can't lose anyone else!”

  
  


\------

  
  


Ruby dropped to her knees as Jaune sprinted towards Ren. No. No. This wasn't happening. Not again. She was there, back at Beacon, seeing Pyrrha gasping for air. She saw Yang, broken and despondent in her room. She saw Penny, falling in pieces in the arena.

 

It was too much. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not again.

 

“No. NOOOO!” she cried out, great silver wings of light unfurling from her eyes again. She felt a rush of white hot energy surging through her before it was cut off by a blow to the head. Falling on her face, Ruby flipped over just in time to dodge Emerald thrusting a blade to her face. She tried to scramble backwards before she was hit in the small of her back and knocked forward again. The image of Emerald faded before the red cloaked teen was wrapped in chains from the illusionist’s weapon.

 

“Gotcha,” came a disgustingly smug voice from behind, “No more light shows from you.”

 

“Emerald,” Ruby growled. She desperately tried to activate that power again, even as she struggled against the chains that bound her. But it was no use. 

 

“RUBY!”

 

Said girl’s head snapped back up at the roar, just in time to see a blur of white and blue smash into Emerald. Now pushing Emerald too, the blur didn't stop until it smashed the thief into the wall with a thunderous boom.

 

“Weiss!” Ruby called out, before turning her attention to the chains binding her. Without Emerald to hold them taut, it only took a little effort to get them off. Once free, she bolted over to where Nora and Jaune were huddled around their wounded teammate.

  
  


\------ **[See End Notes]**  


  
  


“C’mon Ren. Please, stay with us. Wake up!” The words poured from Jaune as he kept applying pressure. He couldn't think of anything else. As his desperation grew, his world began to narrow. Ren. All that mattered was saving Ren. The blond's mind was consumed by that purpose, the entirety of his will focused on that one idea. And his Aura responded.

 

He felt a cool sensation flowing from his hands. His eyes opened, though he didn't remember closing them, and he saw a gentle glow coming from his hands. Ren began to glow as well, his Aura shining a shimmering green as it rippled across his body. It pulsed and swirled, glowing brighter and stronger as the glow from Jaune’s hands began pulse in time with Ren’s Aura. 

 

Ren shuddered then gasped, inhaling deeply as if he had been holding his breath.

 

“Jaune. Jaune! Look! Did you see!” Nora shrieked, excitement and joy overwhelming her.

 

“Jaune, Nora!” Ruby slid to the ground next to them in a flurry of rose petals. “What's going on?”

 

“Ren. It was Ren,” Nora began to babble again, “He got hurt and he wasn't moving and I was so scared but then Jaune- look!” 

 

She motioned at Ren’s glowing form, his breathing now visibly stabilizing. “Jaune’s got a healing Semblance!”

 

Jaune shook his head. “No, I don't think it's healing. I can feel Ren’s Aura. It feels like I'm, I don't know, helping it do it's own thing. Like I'm just giving it a little boost.”

 

Ruby looked at the massive stain of blood the surrounded the place where Jaune pressed down his hands. She gave him a skeptical look. “That's a heck of a boost.”

 

Jaune shook his head and looked back at Ren. “It doesn't matter. What matters right now is that it's working.”

 

Ruby sighed in relief, her shoulders sagging a bit.  Then, eyes hardening with resolve, she took a deep breath and got back to her feet.

 

“Ruby?”

 

The hooded girl looked back at Jaune upon hearing his questioning tone. “You stay here and keep doing what you're doing. And Nora, stay with him and watch his back.” She turned back to look at Cinder. “I'm the one she came after. And if she wants me, she's gonna have to catch me.”

  
  


\------

  
  


Cinder smirked down at the trio as the whiny blond came sliding next to the impaled teen, taking twisted satisfaction in their duress. She turned to look back to the silver eyed brat before she was blinded by a familiar burning light. Her powers failed and she plummeted towards the ground, landing in a painful heap. Barely a second after it started the light disappeared, but the weakness remained. She could feel her powers trying to reawaken and return, but they were sluggish. It would take a while before she’d be back at full strength. Groaning, Cinder slowly got to her knees to evaluate the situation. She didn't know how long it took to get her body moving, but the loud boom that shook the building certainly helped speed it up. Finally upright, she gazed over to where the brats had been huddled around the one not long for this world. What she saw only served to stoke her fury.

 

That hooded brat was standing, turning to challenge her.  _ Her! _

 

Fueled by raged, Cinder rose to her feet. She didn't need her Maiden powers to take care of this child.

  
  


\------

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT!!!!
> 
> Once again, I'm SO sorry for the cringe. Yes I did use Jaune's dialogue from the show. I did it because it felt jumbled, which is how his words should sound when he's overcome with anger and grief. Cinder was 100% cringe, but in my defense, that's how she is in canon. I have no excuse for Ren, Nora, and Ruby. 
> 
> I'm a bit more okay with the dialogue after Ren is impaled. Nora and Jaune's dialogue is supposed to feel panicked and in Nora's case almost incoherent, because they don't want to lose Ren.
> 
>  
> 
> So instead of Weiss standing by, she sees when Ren gets impaled and starts trying to get some space from Vernal, but it takes her some time because of Vernal's aggression. She summons the Queen Lancer and distracts Vernal before turning to head over. But she sees the light and has her attention drawn to Ruby, and when she sees Ruby chained up, it sets her off. She then has the fight with Emerald that we were all somewhat expecting since the Volume 2 opening. The idea was that Emerald would use illusions to distract Weiss and attack her insecurities. Weiss would overcome that by reiterating that she is more than just a Schnee, and basically confronting and overcoming her insecurities that she avoided by just sneaking away from home in Volume 4. After that, I couldn't decide if she'd then summon just the helmet of the Knight on her own head and use its eyes to see through the illusion, or summon the Knight and fight in tandem with it, her eyes closed and using the Knight's vision to navigate in her own body. It'd be another show of mental discipline on her part to be able to fight from a third person viewpoint.
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> As for Cinder, she toyed with her food, and then when the food was trickier than expected, she had a bit of trouble getting full control of the situation. At least until she said "fuck it" and cheaped out to just using the Maiden powers to overwhelm them. Like fighting a computer controlled fighter in a video game and when it's better than you thought, instead of just getting better, you just switch over to that one overpowered character.
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> Cinder and Ruby were supposed to have a fight after this. Cinder can't use Maiden powers because they still haven't come back from the Silver Eyes. And since humans aren't robots, I imagine that being cut off from the Maiden powers also has her feeling drained and more sluggish than normal, simply because her body is used to having that energy and now it just isn't there. As a result, Ruby isn't immediately destroyed. But she's definitely outmatched, and so she spends most of the fight running, using her Semblance, and just frustrating the hell out of Cinder.
> 
> Finally, Cinder's Maiden powers start coming back, but before she can throw a fireball, Hazel comes in and calls her out, saying to remember what Salem said. After realizing she isn't gonna get away with frying Ruby, she calls out to Raven and Vernal (who's now toying with Nora) that it's time to get the Relic.
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> Like I said last chapter, I ended up using a lot of canon simply because the way Volume 5 ended up set up, there wasn't much else to do. The match ups just weren't balanced, and in all truth the bad guys should have just steamrolled the good guys. That's why the Maiden fight still happens in this story, despite how much I disliked it, there is just no feasible way for the good guys to take on 2 skilled Maidens working together.
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> After this there's only one more real chapter, one more joke chapter, one chapter of the aftermath, and a few bits and pieces of moments that were important and that I got specific parts done for, but never wrote entire scenes for.


End file.
